A Firefly Among Monsters
by sxevlbtch
Summary: Slight AU, What if River was on the Hunter Gratzner instead of Jack and without Simon? What would have been different? Crossover with Riddick/Firefly-verse.
1. Chapter 1 The Animal Side

After reading many Riddick/Firefly crossovers I started thinking, what if it had been River on the Hunter Gratzner instead of Jack, but just River and no Simon in tow? River is going to be a little more lucid in this story due to the nature of how she ended up on the Hunter Gratzner [hint lol ;)] I also plan on making a lot of art/mythology/music references in River's thoughts and speech, so it may help to look them up to know what I mean. I own nothing of Firefly or the Riddick Verse, so please don't sue me.

* * *

Riddick POV

They say most of your brain shuts down in cryo-sleep. All but the primitive side, the animal side. No wonder I'm still awake. Transporting me with civilians, he should know better. Sounded like 40, 40-plus. Heard a silent prayer. Some holy man, probably on his way to New Mecca. But what route? What route? I smelt a woman. Sweat, boots, tool belt, leather. Prospector type. Free settlers. And they only take the back roads. And then there's Mr. Johns... the blue-eyed devil. Planning on taking me back to slam. But that isn't what I'm concerned with now. No, another scent, female, young, but there is something familiar about her, something that calls to that animal side of me…

* * *

It all happens before she can think; the female docking pilot falls to the floor, the reverberations of the explosion knocking the wind out of her. The co-pilot soon follows.

"Why did I just fall on you?" the co-pilot Owens asks, the cyro-sleep wearing off.

"He's dead, the Captain's dead…" Caroline Fry says, her breath coming in short pants from the shock and the added weight.

* * *

River's POV

As the next few minutes pass, the fear hangs in the air like a stench. The woman with the fake smile tries to dump the passengers to save her skin. But the man doesn't let her, and they begin to crash, fall from the sky in a blazing inferno, like Icarus when he tried to fly to high, and then flew into the icy depths of the ocean below.

One by one, the cryo-sleeps begin to shut down, the awareness coming off them in waves, they know they are going to crash, that they may not live, and the girl knows most of them won't. But that isn't what keeps her calm, keeps her breathing even. She is aware of him and the beast within him, she feels him pull at her mind, and she cannot help but be drawn to the swirling black depths of his mind. There is conflict, pain, confusion, blood, anger, but it makes sense to her. It is like the dance she has been taught. Like Verdi's Requiem. And the girl wants nothing more to be carried away by the symphony.

The next time she comes to there is light, and voices; lots of voices screaming at her mind and body. She cannot block them out, they scream at her with fury. She clutches her ears to try and dull the voices, but it does no good, they just find their way back in. And it is not only the voices of the dead that scream, but the things beneath her… and she shudders. She feels hands on her now, pulling her from the cryo-chamber, and she is being dragged from the wreckage.

"Got another one here…" the blue eyed man yells "Seems like she's in shock."

"The girl cannot stop the yelling, cannot block the screams," she says mournfully as she collapses in a heap once clear of the wreck.

"Yeah, definitely shock." As the blue eyed man looks on, a little confused as to what the girl is saying.

The woman with the fake smile comes over to the girl, her mock concern plastered for all to see, but oh pretty gilded butterfly, your secret is safe with me for now, even though it makes the girl's head ache, and she longs for the symphony again.

"Get her over to Shazza and the others and have her look after her, see if they can't calm her a bit."

She's aware now of the other voices, the one's not screaming red and like the furies. The cacophony is too much to bear and she loses her mind to it…

…An hour later…

"Is anybody else having trouble breathing?" The little whelp of a man Paris complains to no one in particular.

"Yeah. I feel one lung short." The female free-settler, Shazza replies.

After she awoke, from her blackout what passengers remain have converged on the little shade provided by the wreckage. The gilded butterfly, Caroline Fry, the 'pilot' has given instructions to all.

Johns, the 'law man,' the 'blue eyed devil' as she hears the in the swirling black of the symphony, is searching for survivors and supplies in the wreckage with gilded butterfly, the settler, and the Holy man. But you have to wonder what he is really looking for, because he seems intent on finding something beneath the garden of shards of twisted metal. The nervous twitch becoming more apparent as time ticks by. Tick, tick, another nervous tick, and it's harder to hide the tremor…

The whelp, Shazza, and the Holy man's three charges are sorting through the debris. Separating what is salvageable and what isn't. The bodies are being stacked to one side, for the funeral pyre to come.

"They-they talk to me, they want me-they want me to talk…" She says, staring at the bodies.

"Ta ma de, bi zui little girl! Go sit in the shade like you were told to and quit saying things like that." Paris shouts.

After she came to after her blackout, she had tried to tell them, tried to make them understand what the voices were telling her of, the ones above and below the earth. She tried to tell them the girl was not little, that she knew things, but they paid no mind to the little girl in shock.

Their minds screamed at her all their rage and fear. She began to look for solace in the symphony again and found herself walking towards the music.

* * *

Riddick's POV

Fucking John's, caught me before I had a chance to find out more about the scent calling to me. Ripped the damn goggles off my head before I could even loosen the cuffs around my wrists. Fucker knew what I would have done too. Gone straight for his sweet spot, the one that still has the reminder I left him with last time…But I can still smell her, despite the smell of burned flesh; the lavender scent of hers lingers in the air. Swirls around my nostrils so much I can taste it. It's getting stronger now too, and laced with curiosity, which means she is coming to see what the monster they caged up looks like up close…

"Know you're there girl, doesn't matter you move like a mouse, can smell you…" which earns a giggle from her.

"The girl knows this, but the implication does not startle her," and she giggles again as she takes another step forward.

"Most would be afraid to get this close to a killer little girl…" the growl that accompanies my threat would have sent a chill down most men's spines, but it just earns another giggle from the girl which irritates me to no end.

"Orpheus will have to try harder to make the girl dance away. His mind is a tempo which pulls the dancer to him." She easily replied now not more than a meter away.

I scoff at this, "What the fuck do you know about my mind little girl?"

After this, the scent in the air changes swiftly, the lavender is consumed by something stronger, something that makes my blood boil, and calls to the animal side again. She's now behind me, whispering in my ear…

"The girl knows more about Richard B. Riddick than you know yourself," she practically hisses. The use of my full name not going unnoticed and my muscles instinctively stiffen, from the use of the name as well as her proximity.

"The girl knows what he truly is, the animal that is within him. The girl knows because there is an animal in the girl as well. One that they created when they took away the parts and left the girl broken. But they could not cage the girl, like they cannot cage the man. The girl knows this, and knows that the symphony he provides calms her, and will help her weather this storm…"

I growl at this, comprehending some of the twisted riddles she has just said… "Strong survival instinct. I admire that in a woman. …"

* * *

Author's Note: Okay so this is my first fanfic ever and I would really appreciate feedback, good or bad =) If enough people like where I am going with this I will continue.


	2. Chapter 2 The Crack in the Cage

Dayzejane, thank you for your words of encouragement, they mean a lot. Like I said music will be a running theme in this fanfic along with mythology. Points if you get the veiled reference in this chapter =) Again I own nothing, please don't sue this is all for fun while I can't sleep.

* * *

River's POV

The girl could feel the waves of lust rolling of the man in front of her after he had said this. It took her a minute to regain her composure and steady her breathing, something that the killer did not miss. He laughed as she had to focus her thoughts…

"I have been known to have that effect," he said with a smirk playing at his lips. He gave her another minute before he spoke again.

"So why don't you tell me exactly how you know so much about the infamous Richard B. Riddick," he purred into the scent of her hair.

Just as the girl was about to open her mouth to speak, she froze. She could feel the butterfly and blue devil approaching and she hissed out a "Shhh" Riddick froze at this and the scent of the hype and pilot caught in his nostrils.

* * *

Riddick's POV

Damn, he thought to himself, so wrapped in this girl I haven't even fucking seen I didn't notice the damn pain in my side. That is not acceptable. Richard Badass Riddick does not get wrapped up in girl. Fucking slip of a thing too. The way she had leaned into whisper in his ear had told him so much about this girl he had yet to see. She was small, but not fragile. There was a definition to her limbs that suggests training, what kind he was not sure, but if her riddles held any clue it suggested Alliance. Was she government trained? He didn't know, and he didn't like this one bit… He could usually tell just by the scent of someone who was government, and the fact that he couldn't with this girl bothered him to no end. He had questions for her, but he knew it would have to wait as her scent began to recede and instead it was replaced with the malodorous stench of Johns and that skirt for a pilot….

* * *

Johns was approaching Fry from behind while she looked on at the convict strung up before her eyes. She wasn't sure if she should feel safe knowing he was chained up, or uneasy from the way she was attracted to look at him.

"He just escaped from a maximum security prison." Johns says as a whisper in her ear, making Fry visibly shudder and Johns smirk.

"Should he just stay locked up forever? " Damn did her tone just betray her slight attraction? She hoped not, but that hope was dashed as Johns bit out "That would be my choice."

"Is he really that dangerous?"

He had to give it to the woman, she was dammed curious about the convict, and was trying so hard not to be. He chuckled as he said "Only around humans."

There was a brief moment between the two before Johns said what he came to tell her.

"Seems the little crazy bit has disappeared and people are getting a bit twitchy about it. Came to see if she wandered in here to visit the resident cuddly killer, but since she doesn't seem to be, thought maybe we should have a little look around before she goes and breaks her neck on something."

"Yeah that sounds like plan," Fry said as they began to walk back to where the others were waiting.

* * *

River's POV

After the butterfly and the devil left the girl dropped down from her hiding spot in the crossbeams of the ceiling. She heard the killer chuckle as he heard her drop down.

"Knew you didn't go too far," and after a brief pause "So how's about you explain to me how you knew they were coming?" There is a bit of curiosity to his voice and the girl cannot help but find this tone pleasing to her ears. She begins to skip and twirl towards him a bit.

"The girl is what they made her to be. She was the maiden dancing in the garden before they came and spirited her away. But they veiled their intentions with false hope, and took from the girl what they had no right to take. But she took it back in spades," the girl said with a small laugh that resembled a predator playing with its prey.

"You're going to have to dumb it down a bit for me girl, got maybe half of what you was trying to tell me."

She huffed at this, annoyed at not being understood completely. She explained "I get confused. I remember everything. I remember too much, and... some of it's made up, and... some of it can't be quantified, and... there's secrets. But I understand."

Partially realization now hitting Riddick he replied, "Okay, but how does that explain how you knew they were coming?"

Again she huffed, but this time she tried harder, "The girl can hear things, things which others cannot. What you can sense, smell, the girl hears in here" she says as she pokes him in the side of his head. He growled at the girl and she realized she was stepping lightly.

"The girl apologizes for the intrusion into his space, but now he comprehends what she means."

This seemed to appease him a bit and the irritation rolling of his skin died down.

"The girl must leave now, return to the flock and to the wolf in sheep's fur." She begins to skip away knowing that he comprehends her now. She pauses though as she gets to the threshold, and barely above a whisper murmurs "The wolf is silly, his desire for a syringe blinded him to the hole in that which cages the beast." And with that she skips back towards the others.

* * *

Riddick's POV

He had to give it to the girl; she had some balls poking him like that. Not many could poke a beast and not have their arm bitten off. But now he understood the nature of her story. She was Alliance trained all right, that much he was sure of. Pretty sure she could give him a run for his money too, that is if he didn't have his shivs of course. He couldn't wait to find out more about this 'dance' she knew, and what exactly they had taken from her. Her riddles suggested mental instability, but people had said the same thing about him so he couldn't really hold that against her. She knew Johns was a hype too, which meant she was probably a reader, and all be dammed if that didn't explain more and turn him on slightly in the process. There would be time for that though, now he just had to get out of this cage as she called it with the tidbit she had given him. Unfortunately, this was going to hurt like a bitch…

* * *

River's POV

She had skipped around the perimeter of the crash site to avoid arousing more suspicions as to where the girl had been. The others were just about to disperse to look for her as they came into view but stilled as they saw her skipping towards them. She began to hum to herself…

"Where the GORRAM HELL have you been!" Johns screams at her. It is apparent to the girl that he is in dire need of his next spike but with her 'missing' he was unable to sneak off to fulfill such wishes. The rest of the group is staring at her or glaring at Johns for his tone, but all waiting for a reply.

"The girl heard the sounds of Requiem Mass: Lacrimosa and followed the sounds of the orchestra around and around until the crescendo." She says matter of fact, with more than a few bewildered expressions and one very irate Johns glaring at her.

"What the gorram does that even mean?"

"Earth-that-was composition by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart composed in Vienna 1791. It was Mozart's last composition and is one of his most popular and respected works, although the question of how much of the music Mozart managed to complete before his death and how much was later composed by Franz Xaver Süssmayr or others is still debated…."

She was going to continue but Johns was now turning a merlot shade of red and begins stomping towards her…"It's not safe for little girls to be rutting running around, dong-ma?"

"Don't worry blue devil, no monsters yet," she replies with a smirk, knowing the reference would be unsettling to him, and he noticeable blanches.

"I CAN'T stand this brat! Keep her away from me for a few rutting moments before I throttle her." Johns says as he stalks off towards the wreckage, the others presumably think it's to check on Riddick, but she knows the truth.

"River, you shouldn't wander off by yourself, we don't know what's here and with Riddick it isn't safe around." Fry has again put the gilded face on and this irritates the girl to no end. When Fry reaches a hand out to touch the girls shoulder, she stares up at the older women with a look rivaling one of Riddick's own

"Don't touch it! Don't- Don't you touch that handle," barely a whisper, but enough to get the point across to Fry.

Fry immediately pulls back her hand and becomes as pale as a sheet…She realizes the implications of the girls words, but cannot let the others know. She huffs and a walk in the direction that Johns went, the other's oblivious to the meaning behind the words.

"River, she is only telling you the truth, it isn't safe, even with Riddick locked up." The holy-man easily replies. There is general concern for the girl rolling off the man, and she softens at this and smiles at him.

Just as the others begin to sort through more of the debris, Fry can be seen running back to the group.

"It's Riddick...He's escaped!" And the girl cannot help but smile.

* * *

Author's note: Reviews, positive or negative appreciated. I will try and update as fast as I can and when inspiration strikes =)


	3. Chapter 3 Gunshots and Whispers

Please keep in mind this is a much darker River, and the reason for this has/will be hinted at and will be explained in detail later ;) Also, because of the lovely feedback I have received from ArtLightLove, Raachet, and Dayzejane =) I will try and make these chapters longer, but that also means I will not update as fast. The story is really going to follow the plot of Pitch Black for awhile now, but don't worry, that doesn't mean River won't come out and play. Again, I own nothing please don't sue.

* * *

River's POV

The blue devil is now coming out of the wreckage, a little less fluid that earlier. The girl can feel the drugs in his system, can feel his eyes begin to dance.

"It's all topsy-turvy." The girl says as he re joins the group, which earns another stare, only this time it's frustration laced with something she doesn't like. A hunger which wasn't there when the drugs were not…

The other have been going through the whelps cargo, looking for things to protect themselves, she inwardly laughs at the little man's useless weapons.

"What are these?" the blue devil asks.

"They're Maratha crow-bill war picks from India. Very Rare."

"And this?"

"That's a hunting blow-dart pipe from Papua New Guinea. That's very rare, since the tribe is now extinct."

"'Cause they couldn't hunt shit with these probably," Johns says as he throws down the antique thing.

There is talk between the butterfly and blue devil now, talk of searching for the Riddick. They bicker back and forth, and the real reasons for their words are rolling off their skin, but only the girl can hear them. The devil wants his due, wants the coin he was promised, silly man, he doesn't realize the girl's payday is more than the Riddick's. The butterfly wants to save her gilded face, wants to act the part, all the world's a stage. But in the end it's the devil that wins.

"What's the point? If he's gone, he's gone…" I can tell the butterfly wants to say more, wants to say what she said to the docking pilot that died for her, for the passengers, but she won't, the others interrupt her...

"Why should he bother us?" The Holy man asks.

"Maybe to take what you got. Maybe to work on your nerves. Or maybe to just come back and skull-fuck you in your sleep…" The last part is directed at the girl, but this is more the devil's intention that the Riddick's.

"He sounds like a charmer." Fry spits out before she realizes how she said it, with a slight hint of interest.

"For you." The blue devil grits back.

The Holy man next to me finished his praying, as do his three charges. The girl wants to tell them that they have no reason to fear. That Orpheus and the dancer will help them weather the storm, but they would not believe the girl at this time. No, they would need to be shown what real monsters lurk beneath their feet…

"Alright so this is the plan, the rest of us will go look for water while Johns looks for Riddick, while Zeke, Shazza, and Paris stay behind to finish here." Fry says as the others look to her for guidance. This amuses the girl to no ends because the butterfly's secret is dying to come spilling from her lips.

"If we're looking for water, we should leave soon…" The Holy-man is interrupted before he can continue by one of the charges. The girl sees a momentary glimpse of hope wash over his face as the boy pulls away from whispering in the old man's ear.

"I think you should see this," he says to the others… As the group walks around the crash site, it becomes clear what he wanted them to see.

"Three suns?"

"Bloody hell."

"So much for nightfall."

"So much for my cocktail hour."

"We take this as a good sign… a path, direction from god. Blue sun, blue water…" The girl cringes at this. She knows what he means, but he cannot help what he brings up in her mind.

…Reality Shifts…

She is no longer in the desert, no longer free from the cage. She is trapped, trapped in the white walls, trapped to do the dance they programmed her to do. She can feel the cold metal chair beneath her, hear the clank and click of the tools. She takes a moment to breath, she has long learned how to control these shifts, she knows it isn't real, she recalls another memory… One where she has all the spades…

…Reality Shifts again…

Back to the desert, back to the blue devil, the butterfly, and the symphony which calls to her mind. It is decided Paris will keep watch as Zeke digs graves, and Shazza will pile the bodies. Johns has given Zeke his gun, to sound the alarm, if the Riddick should show. They all go to their respective tasks, the blue devil and the Holy man begin walking when Fry pulls the girl by the arm away from the ears of others.

"I don't know how you know, or what you know, but you best keep your gorram mouth shut little girl."

She cannot help but laugh at this. After the giggle has subsided Fry is still glaring at her, waiting for a reply. "Do not worry gilded butterfly, we will all laugh, but the girl will not be the one to say why. Owens saved the girl with his last words and he wouldn't want that to go to waste."

The look in the girl's eyes had the desired effect and Fry moved a step back before scampering off in the direction that Johns went. The girl begins to hum again, the melody she knows so well, as she skips off in the direction they went.

* * *

"You comfy up there?" Zeke asks a little begrudgingly.

"You can to without the necessities provided you have the little luxuries." A semi-tipsy Paris replies.

"Just keep your bloody eyes open. I don't want that dog sneaking up on my bloody ass."

"Yes, well, you dig the graves. I'll hold the fort, old boy."

* * *

Riddick's POV

John's was losing his touch if he believed that he had strayed away from wreckage. What I'm most curious about was right here, right under his nose. Now that I was free to roam, I could now get a good look at the girl before she scampered off after Johns.

I was right; she was nothing more than a slip of a girl. Her waves of chestnut hair looking more like wild snakes than hair. Looked to be no more that 18 at most. Her movements were graceful and fluid. Her toned little body told him she had spent years where ever it was that the Alliance had kept her. The thought of the words she had spoken to me made my blood boil though…They had taken from the girl…As if the Huh choo-shung tza-jiao duh tzang-huo didn't do enough already to fuck with everyone's lives, they had to go and start taking bits from helpless girls. Well helpless she may not be, but it still didn't sit right. But my mind drifted to the next thing the girl had said…she had taken back in spades…and that sounded all kinds of enticing to his animal side. A smile played on his lips as he was getting ready to make his move…

* * *

Paris and Zeke had just switched off to give Zeke a break. Johns had recently come back and given them his gun as protection, which the girl had snorted at before turning back to her task with a glare from Johns.

Shazza is still pulling bodies from the wreckage when she turned to walk around the corner and was confronted with a still smoldering man.

"On, my god… I…thought I… was the only one." He rasps out before his blood covers Shazza's face. Zeke comes running towards them from the watch tower that they had erected.

"I thought it was him…I thought it was Riddick," he says nearly overcome with grief at what he has done.

During this commotion the girl watches as Riddick climbs the watch tower and steals the rum that Paris had begrudgingly allowed the survivors to drink. He sits for a moment and takes in the view…

Zeke is now switching with Paris once more, too shaken to take over the watch again. He had resumed digging the graves, when suddenly the ground caved in a little and revealed what looked to be a cave. He began to peer into the cave more…

* * *

River's POV

The settlement that the girl has consciously steered them towards with her dancing off ahead was coming into view now. The girl knew they needed to be here. Saw what needed to be done. But there were too many variables right now to calculate the outcome. All she could do was wait, and weather the storm…

The blue devil and butterfly are talking in hushed tones, but the girl knows what is being said. Yes butterfly, confess your sins to the wolf in sheep's wool. Confess to the man that will spill the secret…

"Captain!" The Holy man shouts.

The settlement has come into view now, and they all quicken the pace to investigate.

"Is there anyone here?"

"There is water here."

And all of a sudden the girl is filled with voices again, screaming rage and violence. She wants to tell them, but they will not listen, no not yet…

The butterfly has found wings and has gone to investigate, the Holy man and his charges are pumping water, and thanking god for his guidance. The girl just watches from the shade. But she can feel the blue devil approaching…Fell the hunger radiate off of him…

"What are doing little girl, hmm?" He tries to purr in her ear. This just irritates the girl more.

"Waiting for the inevitable," she says as she crosses her arms over her chest

"Oh, and what's that darling?" He is now running a finger along her cheek, and the girl grabs his hand to stop him.

"Heed this warning blue devil, you will not touch what is not yours."

He laughs a guttural laugh at this, "Oh I think I will touch what pleases me little girl, especially something as tempting as you." He eyes her lecherously and with this she walks over to where the Holy man and his sons are collecting water. Johns laughs to himself and goes to see where Fry, the so called Captain has gone off to…

* * *

Fry hears Johns approaching, and begins to tell him what she has found by tinkering with the emergency shuttle.

"No juice. Looks like it's been laid up for years."

"Well ain't that just dandy,"" he replies as Fry shuffles out from under the console.

"But we might be able to adapt it to the—"

"Shut up!" He silences her with a hand as he tilts his head towards the door. "Sorry, I thought I heard something."

"Like what?"

"Gunshots."

* * *

Riddick's POV

The rest of the survivors can be seen running back from their little expedition to find him and water now. Damn and he thought he was being so good too. But the man's scream had drawn him closer than he should have and that it what got him hear now…

"Piece of Shit! What did you do to him? What did you do to Zeke!" The female in front of me is screaming, beating on my chest.

"Just kill him. Just somebody kill him before he-" Paris never has a chance to reply before Johns steps in.

"So where's the body?"

After that his world goes black, Johns has pistol whipped him across the head, which hurt like a mothafucker. He would have to remember to pay him back for that later. When he comes to he is chained to the wreckage again, only this time his arms are tethered to opposite sides. All he could do now is wait…

* * *

River's POV

The others are outside, arguing about what to do about the monster, the beast, her symphony. There is talk of putting him down, doing what's right, but he won't let them do that. No, the blue devil has his eyes on the prize, and the devil wants his due.

He goes to talk to the monster they have caged again, but they should know nothing can cage him. The girl approaches the group now.

"He didn't do it."

They all turn and look at her like she is ghost of Christmas past at this. Wide eyes and mouths hanging open.

"And how exactly would you know that little girl?" the butterfly demands?

"The Riddick is proficient in many things, but spontaneous combustion is not one of them… Where's the body?" She replies.

"He got rid of it! Got rid of the evidence of what he did to my poor Zeke!" Shazza cries out.

"Negative. There would be congealed hemoglobin as evidence, which there is not."

They all just look at her as if she is speaking another language until the Holy man interprets her words.

"I think she is trying to say there would be blood on the ground, and there is not. Is that correct child?"

She smiled at this and turns her attention back to the group. The blue devil has now returned waves of irritation from getting nowhere radiate off of him.

"Has anyone asked the Riddick about the sounds?"

Fry perks up at this, "What sounds?" Johns eye twitches at this as he begins to realize there is only one way the girl could know this, and the wheels in his head begin to turn.

"Go ask the man for yourself."

* * *

Riddick's POV

Three distinct scents are wafting towards me now. The stale stench of morphine being one that just left not a moment ago. The grease and grime of a ship being the next, hmm, so the so called captain was coming to pay a visit. This should be amusing. The last was scent of lavender, and it was one that immediately made his blood boil. Time for more questions to be answered…

"So where's the body?" Fry commands. He doesn't even acknowledge her presence with this and this flusters her.

"Well do you want to tell me about the sounds then? Look the little girl said something about sounds, and told us to ask you." Still no response. "That's fine. You don't want to talk to me, that's your choice. But, just so you know… there's a debate right now as to whether we should just leave you to die."

"You mean the whispers?" he answers in a gravely tone.

"What whispers?" The scent of the captain is becoming stronger now which means she is drawing closer, and so is the scent of lavender, and he feels something in the back of his mind, like a gentle caress of delicate fingers…

"The ones telling me to go for the sweet spot…" but before he can further answer she is finishing his thought…

* * *

River's POV

"…just to the left of the spine, Fourth lumbar down. The abdominal aorta." She says with a hint of smugness to her tone.

Johns looks on stunned at what has just come to pass, and he knows she is a reader. But this is inconsequential. The Riddick's low growl draws the girl's attention back to him.

"It's a metallic taste, human blood. Copperish. If you cut it with peppermint schnapps that goes…"

"Do either one of you want to shock me with the truth now?" Fry says with irritation?

"Please, like you could handle the truth of Cassandra's words," the girl throws at the butterfly in challenge.

The girl can tell that the Riddick sense the tension building between the butterfly and the dancer and quickly diverts the attention, which she is grateful for.

"All you people are so scared of me. Most days, I take that as a compliment. But it ain't me you go to worry about now."

The butterfly is stepping closer to the girls symphony now, and an audible growl emanates from the girl, not enough for the butterfly to hear, but enough for the blue devil and the symphony to shift. The blue devil is becoming more aware of the girl's interest, which is irrelevant, but it does not stop the waves of jealousy that begin to boil under his skin…

"Show me your eyes."

You'd have to come a lot closer for that." And the butterfly moves in again.

"Closer." He replies again, and this time the girl growls in irritation. He is testing her, testing the girl's reaction. But she cannot help but supply him with the one he wants.

The butterfly rips off the wrap around his eyes, and this is the first time that the mercurial depths are revealed to the girl. This close she can see that they swim with emotion, and not just the previous ones from the symphony. Now the sounds of Verdi are mixed with Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake. The girl cannot help but sway with the symphony as the orchestra picks up, and she realizes that he is projecting this music for her. She smiles at this, and is rewarded with a small smirk from his lips. Yes, Orpheus knew how to charm the maiden, the dancer, the Iron Queen.

* * *

Author's Note: feedback always appreciated, and I hope you all like this. If I begin going out of character for Riddick please let me know, River is more AU in this but if it seems too far off I will try and fix that. Again, kudos if you get my semi hidden references ;)


	4. Chapter 4 Requiem

The reviews I am getting are giving me all kinds of motive to write, and since I have yet to hit a metaphorical brick wall, I will continue to post ass fast as my little fingers can type. There will be a lot more added to the Pitch Black plot because I find it a little unbelievable that they happened to crash on the exact day that darkness falls. So you will get a lot more interaction between people. =) Thank you all. Again, I own nothing please don't sue.

* * *

Riddick's POV

"So you can see who's sneaking up on you in the dark?" Fry asks, the slight scent of fear rolling of her tongue as she says this.

"Exactly."

"Leave!" She orders the girl, who looks all the more perturbed and all the more tempting as she does. She leaves but not after a small growl escapes her throat.

"Cute kid." Johns now has his attention turned back to me with that last comment. I can smell the jealousy dripping out of his every pore. His stench is screaming that the girl will be his no matter what, but lil'Johnny boy forgets I don't play nice when people touch things that are mine…

A moment has passed in relative silence, and you can tell the captain and merc are itching for me to continue…

"Did I kill a few people? Sure. Did I kill Zeke? No. You got the wrong killer."

"He's not in that hole. We looked."

I rumble out "Look deeper."

* * *

River's POV

The butterfly and others are poking around where they do not belong. The butterfly thinks she will be able to fly away from the things that lurk below if needed. Silly, silly, little butterfly, only Orpheus ever returned from below.

The girl watches as they lower the butterfly by the life line, down into the pits. She knows what will happen, can see it so clearly now. She is not needed here, and wanders towards the music.

She walks gracefully through the twists and turns, trailing her hand over the glittering flowerbed of metal.

"Do I understand nature? Do I understand myself?" She says to no one in particular. "_No more words._ I shroud dead men in my stomach... Shouts, drums, dance, dance, dance!…Thirst and hunger, shouts, dance, dance, dance!" And again she dances through the flowerbed of metal.

She is approaching the cage now, but the symphony is loud and it sweeps her into its folds. Swan Lake has morphed, and woodwind is replaced by brass and percussion, and the orchestra is calling at the inner Valkyrie.

* * *

Riddick's POV

He can smell the girl approaching; smell the waves of lavender roll in like a fog. He can feel the air visibly shift about her form as she dances about the room.

"If music be the food of love, play on, Give me excess of it; that surfeiting, The appetite may sicken, and so die." He can't help but laugh at this. No one ever called his mind music. This girl is all kinds of twisted and it makes him like her that much more.

"The other's looking deeper?" I ask even though I already know the answer.

"Affirmative" She replies. She is about a meter in front of me now, and I want nothing more than to reach out and grab her by the arms and pull her into me, inhaling the scent of lavender.

Her next movement surprises me, and she is tracing the contours of my face with her fingertips. I clench my jaw at this and she can feel me stiffen and she giggles.

"Silly Orpheus, the dancer merely wishes to remember the symphony."

"You keep calling me Orpheus, care to explain little girl?"

She is now removing the blindfold around my eyes and replacing it with the goggles the idiot hype left behind. After she has done this she takes a step back and sits herself gently down on a box nearby.

"You are her Orpheus, the maker of sweet melodies, they calm the girl, they sing of sadness, of bloodshed, of passion. But only the girl is moved by them."

I can see her now and she gets a dreamy look on her face while saying this, and visibly sways a bit.

"So if I am this fucking Orpheus, who are you?" And she again giggles that sweet little laugh and again it makes my blood begin to boil.

"The girl has been called many things, daughter, sister, maiden, prize, but they are labels, things the girl has not chosen for herself. She is a dancer, one who cannot help but be carried away by the music. But she is also a weapon, trained in a dance very few know. This makes her the Iron Queen, the harbinger of death, the one who presides over it."

"Ahh, all hail the Queen of the Underworld," I say with a bow of my head and this earns another giggle from the girl.

"Still doesn't tell me your name girl." I look back at her, challenging her to answer me.

It takes her a moment to answer, and I can tell that it's difficult for her to. "…River," she says barely above a whisper, "the girl's given name is River."

"River" I purr. The name rolls off my tongue. It fits her, she moved like liquid, fluid and graceful.

"So why don't you and I have a little talk, hmmm?"

"The girl will answer his questions the best she can, but she does not have all the words to supply the lyrics to his music."

"Okay, so more riddles, I can live with that." She noticeable smiles at being understood, something I have a feeling she has gotten very little of before.

"So you are a reader, correct?"

"Affirmative, the girl hears things others cannot."

"And the Alliance had you in one of their programs."

"Again, Affirmative."

"What did they take from you?"

She pauses at this, and it looks like the air has been sucked from her sails a bit. "The girl is broken. They took away the bits that made her whole and made her something new. But all that glitters is not gold."

"They tampered with your brain, took parts away," he says more to himself than to her.

"Affirmative. They made the girl a weapon. The girl became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity; horrible pain."

"But you took back from them you said," and she noticeable perks at the mention of this.

"How?" She understands what I am asking. Not how did you escape, but how did you kill them? How did you make the fuckers pay?

"They thought they had created the perfect weapon. Molded from the clay in the image that they wanted. But they forgot to lock her in the tower. They forgot that they had given her everything the girl needed for redemption. The wrath of the furies rained down on them one by one. The blades pierced the cords, cut the strings, and the girl made beautiful music of her own. After that the girl merely walked off stage."

She looks like a predator stalking its prey as she says this. There is an almost feral grin on her face. Girl was full of surprises. Had an affinity for blades too, my kind of woman.

All I could say was "Shiny," and give her a grin that matched her own.

* * *

Fry is being hauled up screaming from the pits Zeke was in. She is out of breath and panting, and the others are asking her a million questions.

"I…don't know…what the fuck is in there…but whatever is, it got Zeke…, and it nearly got me…"

* * *

River's POV

The girl feels acceptance pulse around her. The man is not ashamed of what she has done, he does not condone her for it; he accepts her. This pleases her to no end. The girl knows that the man is needed to weather the storm, and acceptance is a key to survival.

She is about to begin explaining the storm that is coming when she feels the sharp needles approach. As if the blue devil didn't annoy her enough already. The Riddick has caught the scent and nods in acknowledgement.

She just sits there as the blue devil enters and begins with his demands.

"Finally found something worse than me?" She cannot help but giggle at irony of this.

"So here's the deal. You work without chains, without bit and without shivs….You do what I say when I say it." Johns says with contempt in his voice. He doesn't like that he has to ask the killer for help.

"For what? The honor of going to some asshole of a cell? Fuck you."

"The truth is…I'm tired of chasing you. Thinking I want to chase something else around instead of your ugly ass," he says as he looks in the girl's direction. This does not sit well with the girl or the Riddick and both acknowledge the other's annoyance.

"Are you saying you would cut me loose?"

"I'm thinking you could have died in the crash." The blue devil says with a false swagger.

The Riddick is getting more annoyed by the second. "My recommendation: Do me. Don't take the chance that I'll get shiv-happy on your wanna-be ass. Ghost me motherfucker. That's what I would do to you." The last part is said at a hair's breadth above a whisper but Johns heard it all the same.

The next moment happens in a flash that it is even hard for the girl to process. The blue devil has pulled the shotgun and shot the lock that bound the chains. The only sound is the clank of metal chains hitting the floor.

"Do we have a deal?"

The girl can only smirk as the table is turned on the blue devil. Orpheus now holds the instrument on him and it's all the more pleasing.

"I want you to remember this moment." He rumbles

"Just one?"

"For now." The Riddick says as Johns takes back the shotgun and proceeds to walk out the door. She can feel the wave of concern about the girl's presence but he knows better than to make a move in front on an unchained beast so he leaves.

The girl is left alone with the Riddick for the first time without chains, and the predatory grin returns to his face. He makes a move towards her, but she is quicker, and dances past him. She calls over her shoulder as she leaves the room. "No touching, the Orpheus must earn the right to play for the Queen." And with that she leaves the room.

She is dancing back towards the others and she can feel one thought reverberate through her mind "_Mine!"_And her own grin returns to her face.

As she rejoins the others, the Riddick is not far behind. The others look on in astonishment and turn back to arguing with Johns

"So, you click your fingers and he's one of us now?" The gilded butterfly feels threatened by the change in power dynamic, as she should, but she is underestimating the girl, which will have to be corrected sooner or later.

"I didn't say that. At least this way I don't have to worry about you all… falling asleep and not waking up." The implication hangs in the air and the others understand the meaning in his words.

"Alright so this is the plan, in an hour we are going start moving stuff over to the settlement. Anything you can salvage and that's worth taking. We are going to take 2 of the power cells with us to see if we can get that shuttle up and running. So rest, drink some off the water and in an hour we move out." Fry says in an almost authoritative tone. The others do as they are told and begin to scatter to the various spots of shade and supplies that have been recovered.

"Come child, it is not a good idea for you to be by yourself right now," the Holy man says. She smiles at his unfounded concern but moves to sit with him and his charges. Paris soon follows as he realizes he has been left standing near the murdered, and drops a bottle of booze in the process.

* * *

Riddick's POV

"Blast!" Paris says.

I inwardly smirk at the little man's jumpiness around me. Like I said ain't me they need to be worried about. I pick up the bottle and begin looking at it.

"Paris P. Ogilvie," the little man says as he sticks out a trembling hand. I grasp it with mine in a slightly firm than necessary handshake.

"Richard B. Riddick. Escaped convict…murdered." He blanches at his and takes his hand back quickly. I begin to take a drink from the bottle in my hands.

"That's a good Shiraz. It's a lovely drop." He wants me to stop drinking but I am thirsty and this is the first drop I have had to drink since Johns tied me up again. The little man continues his plaintive little complaints as I continue to drink.

"It's very expensive. By all means, please. Help yourself." He finally admits defeat and begins walking to the shade where the Holy man, River, and the three boys are. Shazza, Johns, and Fry have all gone to look for more supplied in the wreckage.

As I approach I can hear the girl giggle at something the preacher has said. She notices my arrival but makes no outward sign of moving so I sit down and begin to listen to the conversation.

"Bible's broken; contradictions, false logistics. Doesn't make sense."

"Child, the bible is not meant to be scientific, it's based on faith." The Holy man responds.

Paris feels the need to jump in at this point, "All religion, my friend, is simply evolved out of fraud, fear, greed, imagination, and poetry... It is why the church is wealthy." He says with a twinge of jealousy.

"Edgar Allan Poe," River remarks. Paris noticeable startled that she knew the source of his words. This just amuses her and she giggles, while Paris again retreats to silence.

"What about you Riddick," the Holy man asks. "What do you believe?"

"I ought to have a special hell for my anger, a hell for my pride, - and a hell for sex; a whole symphony of hells!" Again there is a giggle from the girl's lips.

"I can tell you jest with this, but keep in mind that just because you do not believe in God does not mean that God does not believe in-" The holy man stops short as I whirl around to face him.

"Think someone could spend half their life in a slam with a horse bit in their mouth and not believe? Think he could start out in some liquor store trash bin with an umbilical cord wrapped around his neck and not believe? Got it all wrong, holy man. I absolutely believe in God... And I absolutely hate the fucker."

There is dead silence after I finish my statement. Even the girl has stopped her giggling.

* * *

River's POV

The symphony has become a cacophony. And she frowns at the headache she is being given by the voices around her.

Suddenly she begins to hum, to relieve some of the tension burning in her head. A minute goes by before the voices start again.

"Little girl why do you keep humming that infernal song?" Paris bit out. His calm was severely damaged by the presence of the convict and he did not want anything to irritate the man.

"Because it is the song of the girl." She simply states and continues her humming.

"What song is again?" The Holy man asks pleasantly, enjoying the girls humming.

"Requiem Mass: Lacrimosa," Paris replies, and the girl cannot help but stop and stare a bit at the man before continuing.

"Why does it bother you so much little man, seems downright pleasant to me," Riddick responds.

"Do you have any idea what the song means?"

"No," Riddick replies, even the Holy man shakes his head in the negative.

"It's a song of death, of dying."

"Exactly, it is the girl's song." And all but one face turns to look at the little girl humming her tune.

"My kind of song." The Riddick replies and with a smile, the girl just keeps humming.

* * *

Riddick's POV

Johns, Fry, and Shazza are returning from their scavenger hunt. Seems like he is dragging the 2 power cells behind him and the women are carrying a few more odds and ends.

"Alright Riddick, time to earn your keep." Johns says as he drops the ropes to the power cells at my feet. I don't say anything but send him a warning glance to watch his tone. He just chuckles at this and I cannot help but think about his eventual demise.

"Alright people, let's move out." And the rest of them begin to get up and follow her in the direction of the settlement.

River and Johns are the only two that lag behind. She goes to make a move to help with the cells, but Johns stops her with an icy glance. She just shrugs and skips off ahead to where the Holy man and the boys are.

"Keep your hands to yourself Riddick, pretty little Core girl like that has no place in your life," Johns bitterly spits out.

I cock my head to the side to regard him a minute and then a smile begins to ghost onto my face.

"You mean your life don't you Johns?"

There is another minute of silence between us before he turns and walks after the others. Oh yeah I as definitely going to enjoy the day I got to go shiv-happy on his ass. Fucker better learn to keep his hands away from what's mine.

* * *

Author's Note: Alright so as you guys may have known from the start, this was the chapter where we learn how River came to 'leave' the academy, but does it still completely explain why she was on the HG by herself? I don't think so ;) Hopefully this chapter gave you a little more insight into how River sees herself. Obviously she is not 'perfect' in the brainpan, but she definitely understands what is going on around her and is not as helpless as in the series. Things will begin to get darker now, which should make things interesting. Feedback always appreciated,


	5. Chapter 5 Moonlight Sonata

Thank you all for the constructive criticism. It is very much appreciated, because as I have said this is my first fanfic. Hopefully you all are not disappointed with this update. It will take me a little while to update after this, the real-world calls, and the plot bunnies are hiding after River cut one with a Butcher's knife. ;) Again, I own nothing and this is all for fun please don't sue.

* * *

Reality Shifts…

It is the middle of the night cycle. The girl walks through the empty corridors, there is a drip drip sound trailing behind her. She continues walking around the corner, and one of the orderlies comes out of a room. The girl stills. The orderly does not notice her presence and begins to walk in the other direction. The girl continues on. She rounds the next corner, and she is at the door she needs to be at. She goes in. The man looks up from behind his desk.

He looks at her warily as she walks forward to the side of his desk. "River what are you doing out of bed sweetheart? It's the middle of the night and we are supposed to meet tomorrow to discuss your progress."

"The girl has something to give you, a present for all that you have given her."

The man looks slightly surprised at this, and shifts uncomfortably in his seat. He knows what she is capable of if provoked. He slowly reaches towards the silent alarm button underneath his desk.

He isn't quick enough though, before he can blink she has sliced through his throat with a scalpel. He now grasps at his throat, the blood gurgling and dripping down to stain his white shirt. He slumps forward now. His head falling on to his desk.

The girl smiles at this, the drip drip dripping is now louder and she thinks she hears the beat of a drum in it. She turns and goes to walk out the door, but before she does she whispers to the now corpse. "The girl thanks you Dr. Mathias."

* * *

River's POV

The girl jolts awake. The group had stopped to rest from the beating rays of the sun in the shade of an alcove on the way to the settlement and the girl must have dozed off. The others talk aimlessly about their lives, what they left behind, what they were looking for. But they only supply half truths, and there is a tension in the air they are trying to avoid. Trying so hard to be the mask they wear. They all carry secrets. The girl knows them all too well.

The feckless little man just continues counting in his head how much to charge the company for his 'lost goods.' He only sees credits and coin.

The three boys are clouded with questions of faith. The question whether they should take their vows when they reach New Mecca, or run away from the confines of the church, the only home they have ever known.

The Holy man is like an overcast day, warm but the there is the threat of rain. A metallic wall blocks off part of his memories, there is something he wishes to wall up and forget. But the girl can hear the rumbling behind the wall. Silly man, everything eventually comes crashing down.

The settler is incomplete and consumed in her sorrow. All she can think of is the life she will not have, the memories they will not make.

The Butterfly sits calmly, listening to the others, but her mind is on edge. She is wary of the girl. It runs over how she could know, she suspects but will not ask, not yet.

The blue eyed devil's thoughts are jumbled and rambling. His mind is a cesspool, a bog of eternal stench. He was never as good as he thinks, and the girl can see the things he has done; see the pain he has caused. The drugs running through his veins are reaching equilibrium and he will need his next spike soon.

The only thoughts and emotions that truly interest the girl are the ones that emanate away from the group. From the man that stands looking at the horizon.

But unlike before, when symphonies could be heard, now there is only static. He knows how to place walls around his thoughts. Knows how to keep the girl out.

He looks over at her now, a smirk creeping up the side of his face. He knows the girl is thinking about him, and what he has done. This annoys her and she returns his smirk with a glare.

* * *

Riddick's POV

Damn little girl, thinks she is being so coy, hmm. I don't need my eyes to tell me what you're looking at girl. Your scent gives you away. There is a twinge of muskiness to the lavender when you are thinking about me. But you can't hear me now, can you hmmm? I turn and look at her now a smirk playing on my mouth. She glares at me now. She doesn't like not being able to hear what's in people's minds, it takes away some of the control. But I don't like being told not to touch sharp things little girl, especially when they're mine. I think you need to know what kind of beast you let out of that cage. And this thought just makes me smirk more.

* * *

Shazza catches the glare on River's face and looks towards the source. The man turns his head back towards the horizon line and she leans in to whisper to the girl.

"Your assumptions are unfounded," the girl replies before the woman can even formulate the words in her throat.

"River, he is dangerous."

The girl turns and faces the woman now, the intent clearly labeled in her eyes. "As is the girl."

Shazza recoils at this, and turns back to the others. Like the others she is unnerved by the little girl, and especially by her behavior towards the man that could all kill them in their sleep.

* * *

Riddick's POV

"Alright people, we move out in 5 minutes." Johns barks out. He then proceeds to walk over to where I am standing.

"How much does it eat you up, Richard?"

"What are you talking about, William?" I say in the same condescending tone.

"That you'll never get to have a sweet-thing like what's sitting over there?" He says as he points in River's direction.

"Who says I won't?" There is a lecherous undertone to ol' Billy badass, and I do not like it one bit. "Way I see it the girl's already mine Johns, and you know how I don't like it when people touch what's mine…"

"We'll see about that Riddick, we'll just see." Johns goes and walks back to the group.

Time to get this show on the road.

Another hour or so goes by, the women are keeping the little slip away from me now, afraid she's going to antagonize me with those glares.

I know that the girl is trying to find a way in through the static, I can feel her trying to break down the walls, and the musky undertone in back. I think the little girl needs to be taught her lesson. And I am just the fucker to do it. I begin to let my mind wander to what should have happened in back at the crash site in that room. Think of how many different things I could have done to that girl. I let them all play over simultaneously. The blood, hers, mine, the splatters on the wall. Her hands held above her head. I let them all begin to run together. And that's it, that's when I let my walls crash down.

* * *

River's POV

The girl cannot help but stop moving. Every inch of her is assaulted at once. She was not prepared for this. She had been looking for a back door. The girl didn't have her own guards up. The smell of blood fills her nostrils; she feels calloused hands on her skin, hands crushing every inch of her. Cool metal on her back, her throat. She feels everything. He ears do not hear one distinguishable song, but many warring for dominance. It overpowers the other voices around her, and makes her head ache. She cannot help but falter.

Her lack of movement does not go unnoticed. Shazza sees the girl stop, her breathing become uneven.

"River, are you alright?"

But the girl cannot speak, she fears if she does the breathy gasp she is holding in will escape. She can feel her skin growing a deep red every second.

The Holy man is the next to stop and look. "Child, is it the sun? You look faint."

The girl just continues to stand there. All eyes looking at her now.

And just as she is about to let the gasp spring forth, she feels one concrete sensation, one song. But it is not one she would expect to win the war. Beethoven's moonlight sonata, 1st movement. And she feels a part of her melt.

"Water" is all she can say as her face flushes red. Shazza hands her a bottle and she drinks it in gulps. The other's still looking on in puzzlement.

There is a booming laugh from the back and all heads turn to its source.

"The girl having a stroke or something? These things weigh a ton so unless she is dying keep moving."

They all look back to the girl now. She feels her face redden, but this time of embarrassment. "The girl didn't have adequate liquids, and her core-processor was overheating."

The blue devil and butterfly roll their eyes and begin to walk again. The three boys soon follow.

"Child, next time say something. We are all uncomfortable in this heat." And with a pat on her shoulder the holy man walks away.

Shazza looks between the girl and the Riddick a moment but then continues as well.

"Are you going to get left behind then?" He purrs behind her ear. The girl then turns and faces him, but now there is only anger.

* * *

Riddick's POV

The look on her face is priceless as she turns and faces me and I cannot help but give her a feral grin.

"Don't. Ever. Do. That. Again. You embarrassed the girl. She was not prepared for what songs you played." She punctuates her first words sharply. The scent from the first time she said my name is back again, and this just makes me want her more.

"Oh come on you know you liked it." And my grin grows bigger as her eyes grow as wide as saucers.

"That. Is. Not. The. Point. Richard!"

The use of my first name annoys me and she knows it does. "Little girl I will do what I want, when I want, dong-ma?"

Now there is an equally wicked grin on her face, and her eyes narrow slightly. "Then she will do the same." And with that she turns and skips towards the others.

Yeah, this girl is just going to be all kinds of fun.

* * *

There were no other outbursts or disruptions the rest of the way to the settlement. Once they reached the outskirts River ran off in the direction of the dormitories.

"Child it is not safe by yourself!" The Holy man calls out after her.

"The girl will be fine!" And she continues running. The other 's just looked at her and shrugged.

* * *

"Alright we've got enough power for a sys-check… but we are going to need more cells."

"How many are we talking about?" Johns asks.

"Let's see, we got a 110-gig draw. The other…takes 20 gig cells, so that'd be six." Fry responds.

"Six total to launch?"

"Thirty-five kilos each?"

"Well, that's pretty heavy."

"You know that old sand cat out there? I might be able to get it going." Shazza pipes in.

"Do it if you can. But if you need a hand…." Johns looks around at this "Where did Riddick go?"

* * *

River's POV

The girl traces her hand over the walls of the structure. They tell her all she needs to know. She hears the laughter of the children that ran through the halls. The lively discussions from the Geologists stationed here.

She walks into the first room. There is a dresser and a closet to her right. She opens the dresser and thumbs the material of the clothing. She begins to pull things out. She takes the tattered dress she has been wearing over her head and lets it fall to the floor and then kicks off the boots.

When the girl left the academy it had been in a dress that had been in the locker room of the staff. It was a tent on her small frame and made her look much younger than the girl was. The boots had been supplied to her by an orderly who the girl was sure would not miss them. Now she intends to properly outfit herself, and she pulls on the leggings she has found in the dresser. She walks to the closet and opens the door. Again, she begins thumbing the material, listening to the stories each garment tell her. There is static again and she begins to smile.

"You may enter; the girl knows that you are there."

* * *

Riddick's POV

Dammit, was so close, so close to sneaking up on this girl. How the fuck did she hear me? I know she can't hear me when I try to block her out. I lean on the doorway and begin to watch her.

"The girl can still hear the static of the wall."

I quirk an eyebrow at this. "So even when I try to keep you out, you can still hear noise. Makes sneaking up on you damn near impossible then doesn't it?" This is not what I wanted to hear, and a frown begins to form.

"Afirmative. The girl may not hear what music is being played, but you cannot stop all noise from seeping through. Girl has advantage on that score."

Her answer perks my interest. "What other kinds of advantages you got? Hmm?" She's standing there in nothing more than leggings and a bra, vast amounts of milky flesh exposed, and my mind begins to lose its edge.

She moves to the closet now, in search of more to wear.

* * *

River's POV

"Shame to see you covering up that much skin darling," Riddick purrs as he leans against the door.

"Necessary for proper attire. And the girl wishes to be seen in something other than a tent."

He laughs at the girl's statement and she can feel electricity in the air. He walks towards her now and skims his calloused hands down the girl's arms. The electricity hangs heavy in the room now, and she feels the feeling of lust returning from the man behind her. She quickly reaches out and grabs a black shirt from the closet.

He laughs at the girl's apparent shyness. "There's no reason to be getting shy."

"The girl meant what she said, no touching, Orpheus must earn the right to play for the Queen." She goes to move away from the man behind her, but he catches her arm and harshly pulls her towards him.

"And how exactly do you expect me to earn this right? Hmm?" he is inhaling the scent of her hair, and the girl begins to hear the tempo building in her head. Just as he is about move a hand to turn her head, she grabs it and uses his momentary lapse of judgment to flip him to the floor.

While he outweighs her, she has the tactical advantage and uses all her weight to pin him underneath her.

"Well if you wanted to be on top you could have just said." He chuckles out.

"The girl is angry at the Riddick for the earlier assault. She was not prepared for that, and it was highly unacceptable."

Another chuckle emanated from beneath her. The girl narrowed her eyes at him.

There is a tense moment as they eye each other. Both can feel the tension mounting. The girl stands and released the Riddick's hands and goes in search of footwear in the closet.

"So," he says sitting up. "When do I get to see what you can really do?"

"Soon."

"That wasn't the answer I was looking for." There is a hint of agitation in his tone.

She looks over to his seated position and with a smirk on her face and a glint of something evil in her eye says "Soon."

She can tell he wants to protest, but the jumbled thoughts of a certain blue devil approach and she groans in annoyance at the expected intrusion.

"Johns." Riddick grits out between his teeth. He can smell the merc approaching and is as irritated as the girl.

"Affirmative." She now pulls boots out of the closet and begins to sit down and lace them up as the blue devil enters the room.

"Well isn't this cozy," he says glancing about the room. "Let's go. You're missing the party. Come on, boy."

The Riddick hesitates a moment before he realizes the blue devil will not leave without him and he groans at this and leaves. Once they both leave the girl lingers a few more moments listening to the voices. She then goes in the direction of the others.

"All praises to God, for his many blessing to us." The Holy man rejoices as the girl enters the room.

She can feel all eyes on her now for her change in attire.

"What? The girl desired something other than a tent." Riddick chuckles at this.

"It's the winner of the look-alike contest," Paris motions with his thumb.

The butterfly breaks the silence that follows. "Who were these people, anyways? Miners?"

"Looks like geologists."

* * *

Riddick's POV

"An advance team, moves from possible terra-forming location to another once adequate data has been collected." They all stare at the girl at this remark, but he just finds it comical they are so dense they can't figure out what's in front of their faces.

"Nice of them to leave so much stuff here."

"Why did they leave their ship?" the whelp man asks.

"It's not a ship. It's a shuttle and it's disposable."

"More like an emergency life raft, right Fry?" Johns asks.

"They probably had a big drop ship take them off planet…"

"Please, these people didn't leave. Whatever got Zeke got them. They're all dead. You really think they left with their clothes on hooks…Photos on the shelves…" There lack of observation skills baffles me, and all I can think is can these people really be that dense?

"They-they talk to me, they want me-they want me to talk…" She says, staring at the glasses of water in front of her.

This time everyone just ignores her, tired of listening to the crazy little girl. Johns quirks an eye in her direction. Knows what she means, just trying to figure out what to do with this information. I can see the wheels turning in his mind.

"Maybe they had weight limits."

"I know you don't prep your fucking emergency ship unless there's an emergency." I reply.

"So what happened then? Where are they?"

River whispers something under her breadth at this, but loud enough for me to hear. "The girl knows."

Before she can continue on though the Holy man notices the littlest pilgrim is not present. "Has anyone seen the little one? Ali?"

And then I see her stiffen, her pupils go wide, and she grips the table tops till her knuckles turn white. "Coring room," she mutters.

* * *

They run to the Coring room after they hear the scream, Johns shooting the lock on the doors. The others fill in after that, just in time to see the things fly down the hole in the center of the room.

They find Ali in the closet, half the skin on his face torn away to the bone. The other half with claw marks.

"Other buildings weren't secure. So they ran here. Heaviest doors. Thought they would be safe inside. But they forgot to lock the cellar." Riddick says rather somberly.

After that they all just file out close the doors.

* * *

River's POV

They return into the room in silence, but their thoughts are screaming at her. Looking for answers and the girl does not know if she can give them all they want.

"How did you know?" the butterfly asks her disdain dripping from every syllable. She is asking about more than the boy, but refuses to explain it further to the group.

"She's a gorram reader is why, ain't you darling" The blue devil is now seething. She wants his shinny needle. He wants the sting.

"Affirmative." She remains solid as stone, refusing to let their thoughts effect her outward appearance.

There is a spike of emotion swirling in the room. The Holy man and Shazza are the loudest voices, boiling with anger at her. _Why didn't she tell us what would happen! Why didn't she try to stop it? _

The girl looks at them when they begin to place blame on her and tries to explain so they will understand. "The girl cannot see what will be. She may calculate, she may plan accordingly, but she cannot give answers which she does not have. Do not blame her for things out of her control."

Shazza and the Holy man understand; they know there is no use in blaming the girl for something she didn't do. She feels the resentment, but the waves of anger are becoming ripples now.

"Well that explains a lot." Paris says.

"So you know what happened to the people who were here then…" the question hangs in the air.

"Affirmative. Helios was blinded and harpies came out to play. They ran, but they could not stop the inevitable."

"Does anyone understand what the gorram hell the brat is saying?" Johns is getting twitchier by the minute.

"She means there was an eclipse; that those things come out in the dark." Surprisingly it is Paris that provides the interpretation and she looks at him with an appreciative smile. He just looks more unsettled by the smile and twists in his chair uncomfortably.

"So if we stick to daylight, we should be okay, right?" The Holy man seems to visibly relax at this revelation.

"Affirmative, but complications arise. Helios will be blinded again."

"WHAT!" They practically all yell in unison.

"3.35 hours until then. But calculations could be off by as much as 20 percent."

"And you think to tell us this now!" Johns is livid and gets up from where he was sitting to march over to her. The girl is surprised at how fast the Riddick moves to stand in front of her.

"Girl could not calculate until gathering further data. Needed to walk around and listen to the voices left behind."

"Shiny, just Shiny! We got us a gorram reader and but she don't make a lick of sense half the time and she tells us NOW that we need to hurry. Shiny, just Shiny." Johns is now stalking out of the mess. The butterfly quick on his heels.

"The girl is sorry, there was nothing else I could do." The Holy man walks over and puts a reassuring arm around the girl then. His touch sends ripples of calm over her skin and she feels less resentment in the air.

"I better get working on that Sand-cat then…" With this Shazza leaves the room.

* * *

Outside Johns is pacing in the shuttle as Fry goes over the controls. "So we got to get the power cells. I've got to check the hull, patch the…"

"Wait on the power cells."

"Wait for what? Until it's too dark? You heard the gorram girl, we have…"

"She could be wrong, you heard her yourself."

"Get the fucking cells here Johns, why is this a discussion?"

"I should tell you how Riddick escaped…"

* * *

Author's Note: As always feedback, good, bad, ugly, always welcome. =)


	6. Chapter 6 Chocolate or Apples

The plot bunnies came out again. It seems like every time I think they are hiding they like to come and throw sharp pointy objects at my head. On a practicality issue, this story is still very much in need of a beta, so if anyone wants or knows anyone that would be willing to beta for me I would really appreciate the help. All my beta requests thus far have been ignored. =( Thank you Moody Muse, Dayzejane, Rachet, ArtLightLove, and Sere011 for the reviews, they mean a lot to me. =) Again this is all for fun, so don't sick the lawyers on me.

* * *

After a few very tense moments the Holy man is the one to break the silence. "What do we do now child?"

* * *

River's POV

The girl looks in the direction of the Holy man, there is a crack in his wall and his instincts are taking over.

"The girl has calculated as many possible outcomes based on the present variables. First order of business is power. We require four more fuel cells from the Hunter Gratzner in order for the emergency shuttle to receive optimal power. But getting them back will pose the most difficult problem. We need the solar powered transportation for the quickest and most optimal route."

"Why don't you go help with that Paris," Riddick states, he wants to clear the room.

"Don't look at me, the only thing I know is economics," the feckless man says.

"Well go try and help her, dong-ma?"

He skirts out of the room after that, more terrified of the stare from the Riddick than anything he said.

The Holy man realizes what the Riddick is doing and nods his head. "Hassan, Suleiman, please go gather what you can, candles, flashlights, anything." The Holy man says to his charges. The two young boys do as they are asked and depart to begin a futile search. The girl knows they will not find anything here.

After that it is just the girl, the Riddick, and the Holy man are left.

"What are the outcomes that you have calculated, child?"

The Riddick growls at this, "Does she look like a gorram child to you old man? Stop calling her one."

"We are all children in the eyes of God Riddick."

"We've been over this before." He growls, his tone is laced with warning, but the Holy man just huffs and glares back.

"Please Riddick, I wasn't always a man of the cloth, your various growls don't scare me."

The girl just rolls her eyes at the testosterone in the room.

"Gentlemen, evaluation of present conditions are more important than discussion of false logistics in broken book." This gains their attention but they are still glaring at each other.

"The girl has calculated at least eleven possible outcomes. But more may present if variables change."

"How many of them good?"

"Eleven. Important number. Prime number. One goes into the house of eleven eleven times, but always comes out one."

"So, a nine percent chance of making it off this planet?" The Holy man asks.

"Affirmative."

* * *

Riddick's POV

There is a pause before I ask the next question. "You got a plan then?"

"Negative. More calculations are needed once the group returns to the Hunter Gratzner. The use of the Sand cat is primary concern. We will need it to reduce the time needed to return the seven kilometers."

With this I stomp out of the room, she doesn't need to read his mind to know where I am going. Once outside I can see that Paris has indeed gone to help Shazza, even if it is just to keep me from slitting his throat. It seems like she has things under control though. I can hear the boys scrounging around the equipment left behind. Despite the robes they wear the tang of fear rolls of their skin. They won't go into the other buildings now. That just leaves one pilot and one blue eyed merc. I wonder where they scampered off to…

* * *

River's POV

The Holy man watches him go before turning his attention back to the girl.

"I have been meaning to ask you about…"

"Trauma... Frontal lobe damage."

The Holy man is taken aback by not having to complete his question and her willingness to answer

She rolls her eyes at this, "Reader, remember?" And he nods as he comes back to his senses.

"Do your parents know child?"

At the mention of parents she become rigid, her jaw clenches, and there is a fury welling up inside the girl. A whisper is all that comes out of her throat.

"They are the ones that did this to her."

* * *

Riddick's POV

She's doing a run-up on the hull of the ship. Ol' Billy badass has just left to go see about the Sand cat, perfect. I have been meaning to have a little talk with one Caroline Fry for a while now. I creep into the shuttle before she closes the doors to do a hull check.

"Looks like we're a few shy…Power cells" She stiffens when she hears my voice.

"They're coming." She tries to keep her cool, tries to focus on what she is doing.

"It's strange,…not doing a run-up on the main drive yet." Her hand still for a second and I know what she has been told.

"Unless he told you…the particulars of my escape." I say this as I begin to walk closer to her. Her muscles stiffen even more. She's afraid of me, good.

Then I can see her pull herself together, trying to play her part. "I got the quick-and-ugly version."

"You're worried about a repeat."

"It has entered our minds." I catch her use of the plural and quirk my head to the side.

"I asked what you thought." I gravely say.

"You scare me. That's what you want to hear, isn't it? Now can I just get back to work?" Again she tries to busy herself with anything within reach. Apprehension is hanging on her skin.

"I've been meaning to catch up with you…alone…Unrestrained."

"What the little girl turn you down? Thought you could get something here?" She challenges.

Even though she cannot see them behind the goggles, my eyes narrow into slits. But I let nothing show.

"You think Johns…is a do-right man?...You think I could trust him to cut me loose?...Why? What did you hear?...I guess if it were 'trickeration,' he'd just…'X' me out….He'd kill me." Her eyes go wider by the second as I continue talking. "Then again…I am worth twice as much alive."

And that's when it hits her, the look of comprehension crawls across her face before she tries to regain her composure.

"You didn't know that?...Your Johns ain't a cop….Oh, he's got that nickel-slick badge…And that blue uniform….But he's just a merc. And I'm the payday. That's why he won't kill me, see?...The greed is the creed."

"Don't waste my time," Fry says as she tries to pull herself back, back from the edge of looking at the truth. "We're not going to turn on each other, no matter how hard you and the little brat try."

Again my eyes turn into slits. She and Johns really should learn to not insult what's mine.

"I don't truly know what's going to happen…when the lights go out…But I do know once the dying starts…this little psycho-fuck family of ours…is going to rip itself apart."

The hull integrity check is complete and the doors begin to open. I move away from her now and begin to turn and leave.

"Ever wonder why Johns shakes like that? Why he snaps at the little slip?... Ask him….Ask him why your crew pal had to scream so painfully before he died…" And with that I turn and leave. Time to see what the girl and the preacher are talking about now.

* * *

…Reality Shifts…

The girl is standing in her old room, but this time she is on the outside looking in at the scene unfolding before her.

A twelve year old River is in her room, Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, Op. 16 in A Minor: Allegro Molto Moderato plays on her portable cortex. Simon left for the Med-Academy a few months ago. Things had progressively gotten worse since he left. She hears the screams despite the volume of the music.

"Gabriel she needs help! She is an embarrassment to this family! I took her to lunch with me and the ladies the other day and she kept glaring at Cynthia Phillips."

Regan Tam's husband flinches at this. He had been having an affair with Cynthia for some time and he didn't need his daughter telling anyone.

"Then she has the audacity to tell Meredith McKenzie her son is cheating at school! I mean really, the things that come out of her mouth! It's disgraceful!"

"What do you expect us to do Regan? Send her off to a mental institution? How would that look?"

"What about this new school, the one for gifted children the Alliance is sponsoring? Couldn't you make a call?"

"She doesn't want to go there, remember! I vividly remember the tantrum she threw."

"But she is becoming unbearable!"

There is a lull in the conversation. The girl can see her former self stop the twirling in her room. She sees the melancholy begin to form. All she hears in her head as she closes her eyes is Gabriel Tam's reply.

"I'll make a call."

…Reality Shifts again…

* * *

River's POV

The Holy man looks at her with care and concern, something she has never seen in the eyes of her parents. She can see the crack in his wall a little more clearly now, and see the darkness peering through.

"From childhood's hour I have not been...As others were; I have not seen…As others saw; I could not bring …My passions from a common spring."

"Alone by Edgar Allan Poe." The Holy man merely replies.

"Affirmative."

"From the same source I have not taken  
My sorrow; I could not awaken  
My heart to joy at the same tone;  
And all I loved, I loved alone.  
Then- in my childhood, in the dawn  
Of a most stormy life- was drawn  
From every depth of good and ill  
The mystery which binds me still:  
From the torrent, or the fountain,  
From the red cliff of the mountain,  
From the sun that round me rolled  
In its autumn tint of gold,  
From the lightning in the sky  
As it passed me flying by,  
From the thunder and the storm,  
And the cloud that took the form  
(When the rest of Heaven was blue)  
Of a demon in my view."

The girl just looks at the Holy man as he finishes the poem. Feeling waves of acceptance for the second time in a very long time.

"Child we all have our demons, the only thing we can do is believe in something, whether it be God or ourselves. I don't care what you believe, just believe in it in these dark times, and know you are not alone."

The Riddick walks in now, the girl can feel a smug satisfaction rolling off him. She can also feel a very disturbed butterfly, and sees all the little sharp ideas he has put in her head. Ah yes, divide and conquer. "You two going to stay here then while we all leave?"

The girl turns and nods at the Holy man and then proceeds to get up and walk away. She pauses and turns before she reaches the Riddick though.

"Thank you Derrial Book." The shock on his face makes her smile and with that she turns and glides towards Riddick. "Bad man, you didn't let the girl have any fun." The girl winks at him and then skips out the door. But instead of turning right to go outside, she turns left. The girl knows what will be needed and goes to procure it.

* * *

Taken aback by the use of his name from the girl that had previously referred to him as Sheppard or Holy man and the last comment the girl made. He looks at Riddick as if for some explanation. All he says is "Readers," and shrugs his shoulders and walks out. Those two are so alike it scares him a bit. Derrial Book says a silent prayer and then walks out.

* * *

The Sand cat has started and Shazza sits behind the wheel waiting for everyone to climb aboard. Paris and the boys are first, followed by Johns, Book, and Fry. Last to climb on is Riddick. River is noticeable absent.

"Where's the brat? You finally get sick of her gou-shu Riddick?" Johns asks.

Just then she appears from a side door and climbs on "Present," River replies.

"Where the hell did you go?"

"Last minute preparation," she says as she hands Riddick a piece of metal she has fastened leather straps to as a handle. A shiv, and a smile threatens to spread to Riddick's lips.

"I thought I said no shivs."

"Shivs? This?" Riddick says looking towards River.

"Personal grooming appliance." River says nonchalantly.

Shazza just rolls her eyes and takes off back to the crash site.

* * *

Riddick's POV

Everyone just sits in silence on the way back. But I don't need to be a reader like the girl to understand what each of them is thinking. Most of them are just hoping the girl's calculations are wrong. They are praying for more sunlight, refusing to look up towards the sky, afraid of what they can, a slowly graying sky. But Johns? No. He's got the shakes bad now, trying to hide it too. Needs another shot, but hasn't gotten the chance to escape the prying eyes. And Fry? She just keeps glancing at him, eyeing him. She is thinking about what I said. Thinking about it long and hard.

I look over at the girl seated across from me now. She just stares at me, smirk plastered to her face. She nods as if to confirm my suspicions about the others. She's just happy there is music again instead of static. Figure if the girl gave me something shiny, she deserves a little music for the drive.

But as the drive progresses I keep trying to startle her with the 'music' I pull into my brain.

My first kill. "1812 Festival Overture, Op. 49"

My sixth. "Fugue for Solo Guitar, in A Minor"

My time in the Slam City. "Bolero"

My last escape. "The Planets, Jupiter"

Her scent changes depending on the music she claims to hear, and I can taste her emotions on my tongue, but never allowing my face to register anything. All she does is smile at me more and riddle off a name of a song after the memory has finished.

"Gorram, why do you keep naming songs?" Paris is exasperated by her voice since she is the only one talking.

"Naming the songs that she is listening to."

"Well Bi zui! Gorram moonbrain little girl!"

"Those who danced were thought to be quite insane by those who could not hear the music."

"And stop with the riddles! They are giving me a headache!" Johns yells at her. Man I wish I could just stick the shiv the little slip gave me into his sweet spot. Do us all a favor and shut his junkie ass up. Less dead weight to carry around too.

The girl just shrugs her shoulders and continues to roll her fingers back and forth in the air, like she is the conductor of a symphony.

I have to say I am a little perturbed and a little turned on that nothing violent I bring into my mind scares her. Even with Alliance training she should show some trepidation around me. She just smirks as if to challenge me and an evil grin spreads across my face and I begin to play back one more memory…

* * *

River's POV

Silly man, he should ask the girl what music her mind plays back. Thinks his memories will startle me. Please, the girl is the dancer of death, wo hu chung long, the Iron Queen. Orpheus smirks now, but…

* * *

Riddick's POV

Her smile is slowly fading from her face. Her eyes are glassing over, and the lavender scent in the air seems to wilt, as if there is no water left to keep the flowers alive. I quirk an eyebrow to ask the name of what she hears now.

"Night on Bald Mountain"

But as the memories continue, the wilted flowers replaced by the smell of burning cloves in my nostrils. The glassy eyed little girl is replaced by something else, something sharper, smoother, more lethal.

We have reached the crash site now and everyone jumps and runs to gather the power cells. Paris skirts off in the direction of the container carrying his goods, mumbling something about us not leaving without him right?

No one is around us now, Johns has finally scampered off to get his next fix. Fry hot on his heels though. River and I just stay seated, both not willing to turn away from what we see unfolding before us.

She finally breaks the silence "To whom shall I hire myself out? What beast must I adore? What holy image is attacked? What hearts shall I break? What lies shall I maintain? In whose blood tread?"

I quirk an eyebrow to ask.

"They will pay." And there is a dangerous flash in her eyes, and I growl in satisfaction. Ah yes, my kind of woman.

* * *

He takes the ampoule from the false cartridges for his gun. With shaking hands he loads it into the syringe. He then carefully places the needle in the corner of his eye. In his line of work it's better to not have track marks. He can feel the drugs hitting his blood stream. Feel the relief in his mind.

"You're not a cop, are you?" Fry says as she walks into the cockpit where Johns is seated.

"Never said I was."

"No, you didn't." Fry acknowledges begrudgingly.

"Never said you were a hype, either." There is bitterness in her voice as she sees how much medication he truly has at his disposal.

"You have a little caffeine in the morning and I have a little morphine. So what?" He is too high to really care anymore.

"Here you got two mornings every day. Wow, were you born lucky."

"It's not a problem unless you're going to…"

"No, it becomes a problem... ...when you let Owens die like that! You have enough drugs here to knock out a mule team!" She is screaming at him now.

"Owens was already dead. His brain just hadn't caught on to the fact." And all she can do is gasp at his words.

"Is there anything else I should know about you?"

"Yeah, look to thine own ass first, right?" And with that she turns and leaves; disgust on her face.

He gathers up his cartridges and his guns, and turns to leave. On his way out though, something in the wreckage catches his eye. It's his electronic log. He bends down and looks at it, thinking how worthless it is now, but the proverbial light bulb in his head flashes on, and he begins to fiddle with it, looking through his records. She's a bit younger in the picture, a little less gaunt in the face, but there is no mistaking that it's her. And a grin that would rival Riddick's creeps onto Johns face. Wheels in his mind slowly picking up speed.

* * *

Book, Shazza, and the boys are dragging the four fuel cells towards the Sand cat when the stop dead in their tracks. The sky is growing grey, the light of the last rays of sunlight licking the tops horizon line. All they can do is watch in awe and horror.

As Fry and Johns emerge they too stop to watch the light fade. For the first time in her life, River hears nothing in her mind.

But that's when the noise starts. Softly at first; barely above a whisper. But then it grows louder, punctuated by a screech that sounds like nails across a chalkboard. Then the beating of wings can be heard, and the group watches as what appears to be thousands of bird looking things rise up from the holes in the earth. Like locusts in a swarm.

It's Paris, still at the container portion that breaks the revere.

"People, just a suggestion, perhaps you should flee!" He screams at them.

And with that they all take off in a run towards the only part that can be closed off.

"Come on!"

The boys, Book, and Johns are the first to reach the container. Fry and Riddick follow shortly. Shazza and River are the ones trailing behind.

"Get down!" Fry yells as the rest of the group watches in horror and sick fascination as the things swarm towards them.

Shazza and River dive a hairs breadth before the swarm of creatures flies over them. The reverberation of the creatures' flight feels like a wind tunnel on their skin. They pass over the two, and they both lay there for a moment contemplating what to do.

* * *

Riddick's POV

"No stay down!" River yells to Shazza. But Shazza doesn't seem intent on listening. Thinks she can make the 50 odd yard meter dash. I couldn't care less if she lives or dies, it's the slip of a girl slightly behind her that I am only interested in.

Her eyes close, but I can see her pupils running back and forth. I can tell what she's thinking. Can see her running the calculations in her head.

Shazza makes a move to get up, rising up on her arms. But as she does River darts up like panther, and throws herself on to Shazza, weighting her down, hairs breathed before the things fly over them. And this just pisses me off. Girl should not being putting her neck out on the line for these gorram fools. Going to have to have a little 'discussion' about this behavior later once she gets her skinny ass in here.

* * *

River's POV

"When the girl says something, listen!" The girl hisses at the older woman, who just stands there, amazed, confused, and terrified.

"The girl will accept thanks in form of chocolate or apples at a later date. But now we must move before the monsters return." With that she flashes a smile at the woman, and they run to the safety.

The girl just rolls her eyes when they reach the threshold. The Riddick is not happy with her, is questioning her judgment. His mind is screaming at her in rage for an explanation.

"Percentage for error was marginal. Risk taken acceptable by girl's calculations."

He doesn't say anything, and the static returns, which earns another eye roll. Orpheus will learn to trust in the dancer, the Queen soon enough. With that she moves to enter the temporary sanctuary, hearing the static follow.

* * *

As Riddick turns to follow River in a new sound can be heard, a clicking echo from the darkness creeping in, and he removes his goggles as he turns towards the horizon.

"Beautiful," is all Riddick says as the darkness consumes the landscape.

* * *

Author's Note: Okay, so I couldn't resist placing another piece of the larger puzzle in here, [smiles a very Riddick like smile LOL] As you can see, things are beginning to stray from the Pitch Black plot a bit more, but this doesn't mean it's going to be a walk in the park either ;) As always feedback appreciated.


	7. Chapter 7 Assassin's Tango

The plot bunnies have been 'bribed' into submission with cupcakes [I know, go figure, right?] and are now quite happy ;) Anyways, so this chapter and the next are going to answer some of the questions you have all been asking, so I hope I don't disappoint. Thanks for all the lovely reviews. And again, this is only for fun, so please don't sue me.

* * *

Once the door to the outside had been slid into place and locked in place the survivors took a minute to breath. The only illumination that lit the hallway was the faint light from Paris's lighter and Johns' flashlight. Nothing could be seen down the dark corridor.

"Are these the only lights we have, is this everything?" Paris nervously asked.

"No there should be a cutting torch on the floor somewhere, I just can't find it," Fry replied as she searched.

That's when they heard it; the echoes that had filled their ears outside could be heard in the darkness.

"Quiet please, everyone." Book says as he leans against the thin metal wall separating them from the outside.

"Why do they do that?" Shazza says as she mimics him and presses her ear to the metal.

* * *

River's POV

"Specialized inner ear function and primary sensory neurons coupled with enlarged auditory cortex allows for the processing of different noise characteristics when reverberation occurs."

"Why the gorram hell can't you talk normal girl?" the blue eyed devil asks. Agitation is becoming apparent with the girls mode of communication.

"She means it's how they see, it's echolocation" Book answers trying to diffuse the tension growing between the blue eyed devil and the girl.

"Well then why in the gorram hell can't she say that?"

"Don't be such a boob, girl explains things on a scientific level, if you are the one who does not comprehend, not the girls problem."

"Little girl I am getting sick and tired of your fucking attitude, dong-ma?" He says as he takes a step toward the girl. Everyone now moves to get in between the two.

Something can be heard rustling in the darkness and they all quite and look down the corridor.

* * *

"Could be a breach in the hull. I don't know." Fry says.

"Come on, Johns. You got the big gauge." Riddick taunts.

"I'd rather piss glass. Why don't you go fuckin' check?"

"I'm not staying here one more second," Paris says as he moves away from the fray. The whelp goes to unlock the door the group had just passed through as Book pulls him away.

"Where are you going? Sit down Paris!" The butterfly almost screams.

"You don't know what's out there," Shazza tries to reason, fear laced in her voice. She is still shaken from her very close brush with death.

"I know what's in here!"

Book wedges open a container and they all begin to hurriedly move inside it. He quickly locks the door behind them.

"Now we're trapped in a much smaller space, I hate this! I am never flying coach again!"

There is a moment where there is complete silence, and then a blade like digit comes through the metal door Book had just closed. Everyone anxiously moves away from the door, and in the meantime Riddick has found the cutting torch and has begun slicing through the metal wall of the next container. Again everyone rushes into the next compartment.

* * *

River's POV

The others move to block the makeshift door, hoping the debris they pile will keep the furies at bay. The girl knows further data is needed to complete calculations, and begins to move into the darkness in search of the missing numbers. Variables, numbers, statistics, and calculations begin to run through her mind, and the girl fails to notice the two other figures walking into the darkness...

* * *

Riddick's POV

I watch as the others cram as much crap as possible in the hole we just ducked through. I know it wouldn't be enough to keep those things out, but it's better than nothing. That's when I notice the scent of lavender getting fainter. Where the gorram hell does that girl think she is going?

* * *

River's POV

The girl stands in the container, transfixed by what she is watching, studying. They have stumbled into the container with the hull breach and one of the monsters sits perched on the container a few yards in front of her. The girl takes in the anatomy of the creature, memorizing every detail.

It looks like an amalgamation of earth-that-was animals that she has seen in her cortext. A head similar to Sphyrna Sphyrnidae, the talons of Aegypiinae Accipitridae, feather-less wings and tail of a R. rusticlus Falco. But what was most startling was the torso, which resembled the exposed muscle structure of an adult male human.

The mind of the fury is fragmented in the girl's head, it chants of desire to feed, wants to gorge on the soft flesh it desires.

And that is when realization dawns, the girl knows these creatures, has seen them before. Their tormenters, the one's that hide behind their righteousness, are to blame. They were monsters, the girl was a prize. While they had been discarded, the girl was made to be something 'special,' something that could only live in corrupt minds. They are all one in the same, Two by Two, and the girl knows where to find the last one, the missing piece…And the girl cannot help but stand transfixed in the shadows, fury beginning to bubble in her veins, and Requiem Mass: Lacrimosa in her ears.

* * *

Just as River has melted into the shadows, wrath bubbling under her skin, Hassan timidly steps into the space a few feet from her. He would have continued walking but the creature has rustled loose material with its talon, and Hassan is alerted to its presence. He too, just stands there transfixed.

* * *

Riddick's POV

I can smell her scent change again, smell the cloves rise up. She really thinks she has reason to be mad at me? This girl is more twisted than I thought.

I am about to start my tirade on her earlier actions, shouldn't stick her neck out for people who wouldn't do the same for you, people quick to label you and throw you away, but when I round the corner the words and growls die in my mouth. There on the containers sits the beasts from the outside. I can see River, just an arm's length out of reach to the right, and one of the Holy man's charges to my left.

"Extremely inconvenient timing," is all River whispers.

Hassan looks like he is going to piss himself, and he starts to shake a little.

That's when the other thing appears, just above our heads. It's slowly extending its talons towards the boy, and just as it goes to lash out, Hassan turns and runs. Before I can even realize what I am doing, my mind is made up and I grab River and pull her towards me, just out of reach of the monsters that go past us chasing after the boy.

Damn things just won't go away though, and another one pops its ugly head out of the shadows, and I begin to pull the girl behind me as I break into a run to where the others are.

* * *

Riddick and River are running down the passage way, the thing following close behind, when the light from Johns' flashlight hits them. Riddick fails to shield his un-goggled eyes in time and collapses from blinding pain as the light hits his uncovered eyes, pulling River down with him.

That is when the others see what is chasing the duo, and the screams they emit match the shriek of creatures. Johns fires his shotgun blindly. And a few seconds later the creature falls flat at their feet and they scream again.

"Is it alive?"

"What's happening to its skin?"

"Light actually hurts them."

"Where is Hassan?"

"We'll burn a candle for him later. Come on let's get out of here. You two coming with us, or you getting cozy down in here?" Johns asks River and Riddick who are still lying on the floor. They get at this comment and the others begin to move into the next container. As River goes to move past Riddick though he grabs her by the arm to turn her to face him.

* * *

Riddick's POV

"Don't. Even. Start. Richard." And that just makes me pissed off even more, who the gorram hell does she think she is? Don't start my ass!

"What the fuck were you doing? You have a death wish I need to know about?"

"Data was needed for calculations for survival of group, the girl went to procure it."

"Girl you need to be more concerned about your own neck than these _Fei fei pi gu_." I growl.

"Negative, survival depends on the combined effort of all. Your behavior is the unacceptable of the two." She places a hand on her hip in a way that communicates her challenge to me. And with I cannot help but lose some of my cool.

"My behavior! What the fuck are you talking about?"

Now she is whispering to avoid revealing what she is about to say to the others nearby. "Girl knows what you did a moment ago. Knows you chose to protect the girl instead of save the boy. The girl would have been capable if left to her own devices. The Riddick's behavior was unacceptable."

All I can do is growl. Girl's _shia suo_ is grating on my nerves.

"Listen girly, I do not care about those other fuckers. You? I just want to see what you can do before you go get yourself mutilated by one of those things. Dong-ma?" But I know this is a lie. The animal in me wants her, wants to explore every inch of her, and know what she tastes like.

"Affirmative, but the Riddick lies to the girl, he likes the girl more than he wants to admit to her, the animal calls to her, wants to lay claim to what it sees as his. It is like old earth-that-was melody, dangerous, slow, explosive, explicit, an Assassin's Tango." She says with a feral grin that pisses me off and makes me want to take her up against the nearest wall.

The former emotion wins out and I am about to protest, about to verbally smack that stupid grin of her face, but ol' Billy badass interrupts. "You two done with your lover's quarrel, or you going to move over here so we can seal this hole up?"

She skips to where the others have seated themselves. Yeah, girl is definitely getting me all kinds of twitchy, and she knows it too. Damn readers.

* * *

River's POV

The girl skips over to where the Holy man sits. She takes a seat to his right and folds herself into a lotus position, closing her eyes and begins to concentrate.

"Child, have you found the other information you needed?" He asks her softly, mournfully after what has just occurred..

"Affirmative. Calculations can now be completed." And with that the girl closers her eyes and loses herself to the numbers, the puzzle; the quandary.

* * *

Riddick moves and sits across the room from the girl, and Book watches as the other man just stares intently at her, as if studying every feature of her. He appears conflicted, torn between wanting to strangle or ravage her, and book is not sure either outcome would be good.

"Affirmative." The girl next to him states, barely above a whisper, never opening her eyes or changing her position. She is confirming his thoughts.

"Do you think it wise to tempt the beast child?"

She smiles a very wicked grin at this. "Affirmative. The beast calls to her, he just doesn't want to admit the girl is right. Over abundance of pride."

"Don't you think he's too…"

"Irrelevant. The man and girl have much in common despite physical appearances. They were made what they were by the same hands. The same hands that made you too, Derrial Book." She says as she opens her eyes and stares directly at him.

He wonders what she means, wonders what could possibly connect the three of them. And she answers his questions before they even leave his mind.

"All will be revealed in time."

* * *

"So we've got one cutting torch. We've got two hand lights. There's got to be something we can rip out of the crash ship."

"Spirits. Anything over 45 proof burns rather well." Paris chimes in.

"How many bottles you got?" Shazza asks.

"I don't know. Maybe 10."

"Johns, you've got some flares. Okay, maybe we got enough light." Fry says, barely keeping her calm.

"Enough for fuckin' what?" Johns practically yells.

"We stick to the plan. We get the four cells back to the shuttle. We're off this rock." Fry's calm is slowly becoming more undone with every word she takes.

"I hate to ruin a beautiful theory…with an ugly truth…but that sand cat is solar. It won't run at night." Paris dejectedly replies.

"So we carry the cells, we drag them." Shazza says. The fear has disappeared in her voice, replaced by determination to live now that River has given her a second chance.

"You mean tonight? Are you fucking kidding? Let's think of it this way, now how long can this last? A few hours? A day, tops?"

"Why don't we ask the girl?" Book says, turning towards the girl at his right. And all eyes soon follow him.

* * *

River's POV

"Current planetary alignment will remain in effect for the next 16.72 weeks."

"And how do you know that little girl?" the blue devil sneers.

"Calculations based on further data collected."

"And why the fuck should we listen you your 'calculations' anyways? You have been nothing but a _Fang zong feng kuang de jie_ from the beginning with all your damn riddles."

"Don't use her like that." the gilded butterfly says.

"Like what?"

"As a punching bag. Deal with your own fucking fear." But the girl knows this is a mistake, knows the blue devil is looking for a 'sweet spot' in the would-be captain.

"Fuck you Caroline. Girl is _feng lei_ and you know it."

"Hey she's the captain, listen to her." Shazza yells at him.

"Listen to her? When she was willing to sacrifice us?"

There is a collective "what?" heard around the small room from the others.

"This doesn't help Johns," the butterfly says fear creeping into her voice.

"The crash. She tried to blow the passenger cabin, kill us in our sleep."

"SHUT UP YOU STUPID HYPE!" the butterfly says as she pushes the devil, but loses her footing and falls to the floor.

"I may be a lot of things Caroline, but I wasn't the one who wanted to kill us off."

But she should have known better than to trust him in the first place. The girl does not feel all that sorry for her secret being exposed, she warned the butterfly it would not be her to spill her secret; she should have listened.

"We are disposable. We're just walkin' ghosts to you?"

"Fine, you made your point John," Book replies. The girl feels the sadness seeping into their veins now. She feels the betrayal in their eyes.

"What do we do now then?" Shazza says, trepidation now taking control of her voice.

"The girl has a plan."

"Shut your mouth little girl I am sick and tired of hearing the gou shi coming out of your mouth."

"Girl does not speak gou shi, that's what you inject in your eyes." The girl cannot help but smirk at exposing his little secret. Tit for tat, he is damaging the calm, and the girl does not want a head ache.

And before anyone can barely blink Johns is aiming at River with his shotgun. But in the time it takes for him to raise the gun Riddick has moved in between her and Johns, tapping the shiv River made him on his thigh.

"Okay, okay."

"So you are a fucking hype then?" Shazza asks. The blue devil just glares in response.

"Isn't a lawman either, just a fuckin merc." Fry says, the confidence coming back as she sees the tables turn.

"That's enough! All of you! Anger only dwells only in the bosom of fools!" Book says to quiet the room. Once there is a lull he continues.

"Now the girl says she has a plan, so let her speak," he says, and the girl sees another crack appears in his wall. She smiles at what she is beginning to hear, it is a song similar to the Iron Queen and Orpheus's; a song of darkness.

"We let Orpheus lead the way, and we use the borrowed light to shield us from the night."

"Who?"

"Who's Orpheus?"

"She means me." Riddick calmly replies.

"And how do you know that?" Book says a little stunned.

"She hears the music in my head. Why do you think she was saying all those names before?"

"_Shen sheng de gao wan _she is a reader!" The girl just rolls her eyes at the whelp man's lack of listening skills. Men can be such boobs.

"Boldly they rode and well, Into the jaws of Death, Into the mouth of Hell. That what you saying girl?" Riddick asks as he stares at the girl. The girl nods her head. However, his question raises surprise in the Holy man, who openly gaps at the Riddick.

"What? You got a problem with what I am saying old man?"

"No, just amazed that you quoted Tennyson to say it."

"I can read Sheppard, what else do you think I did for two fucking years in the slam?"

"An ordinary man can surround himself with two thousand books and thenceforward have at least one place in the world in which it is possible to be happy." The girl says with a smile. But then just rolls her eyes at the others inability to imagine him a learned man. The girl stands corrected, men and women are such boobs.

"So we get some make shift lights and blindly follow Riddick into the dark? You got to be kidding me girly." The dancer should really just shiv the blue devil, he grates on her nerves.

"Affirmative."

* * *

With that Book seems to take control of the situation. "Alright let us all search this container and the other for sources of light before we move to the other crash site to collect the fuel cells."

Johns wants to protest but seeing the Riddick play with his shiv makes him think better. They all nod and begin their search.

* * *

Author's Note: More puzzle pieces falling into place, Ohh exciting! ;) As always feedback appreciated.


	8. Chapter 8 Nocturne in CSharp Minor

I am really happy that everyone seems to be enjoying the direction that I am taking the story =) The reviews have been really encouraging. I would like to give special shout outs to divine one (who I am happy to say is now my amazing beta!), lizziebug, Moody Muse, Chibiboku, Sere011, Rachet, and dayzejane. As always, I own nothing, so please don't sue me, this is all for fun.

* * *

They all search the wreckage for light sources that will buy them more time. After a few minutes River stops searching and sits in the hallway, knowing that they have found all they will on this side of the crash site. The others do not know this but they soon will. Until them, River just sits there and closes her eyes and listens.

* * *

River's POV

The thoughts and fears of the others come pouring into the girl, mixed within the whispers now.

"**We can get thru this, we can…"**

"…**we only need a little more light to…"**

"…**_blood…flesh…crave….wrath…"_**

"**I was supposed to die on France, I never even saw France…"**

"**What have we done?"**

"…**another hit, another high would be…"**

"…**_we only meant it for the best…"_**

…**and static.**

The static is growing closer now, she can hear it as it draws near. The girl just allows it to wash over her; drown out the other noise.

That's when she feels the cold metal on her throat; feels the pressure ever so slightly on her neck. It burns into her flesh and excites her. Still she does not open her eyes.

"Da chong wu dan."

"You sure about that girl?" His voice is coarse; he wants to give nothing away.

"Affirmative. You find the girl of too much interest to ghost her."

"Only because the others would just get…"

"Negative. You think the girl is shiny." And again the wicked grin is on her face.

There is more pressure on her throat now, the tip of the shiv presses into her flesh enough to draw a pinprick of blood. He growls. "There any use lying to you?"

"Negative. The girl will always know what is in here," she says as she taps the side of his head…

* * *

Riddick's POV

Only a small amount a pressure, that's all it would take…Hide the body in the darkness… Only a small amount of pressure…

…But I want to hold her close, her skin pressed against me tight, so lovely it feels so right…

The girl is driving me crazy; all I can do is whisper in her ear "I want to tear you apart…"

* * *

River's POV

The sound of his voice sends chills down the girl's spine…and her smile goes wider.

"It is always by way of pain one arrives at pleasure."

He laughs a very guttural laugh at this, leans in closer, "That an invitation?"

* * *

Riddick's POV

This girl will be the death of me…She knows it too. The way she smells, the way her body screams at mine, and she knows it, oh does she know it. She is egging me on with that smile, that dangerous smile that promises blood and sex.

I drop the shiv from her throat, and lick the blood that dots the tip of the metal… Taste like cinnamon and vanilla. And I wonder what the rest of her tastes like.

"Soon" is all she says. And I growl in irritation.

"Could take you right now if I gorram wanted to." And I lean into her, pressing my body up against hers. "What's to stop me from that, hmm?"

"Because Orpheus must earn the right to play for the Queen."

This just fuckin' pisses me off more and I momentarily regret lowering the shiv. "And how do you purpose I do that?" I growl.

Before I can react she pushes me away from her and to the other side of the hallway. She's stronger than she looks, and uses my momentary lapse of focus against me. She pulls a shiv from somewhere on her body, and presses it into my throat.

"When the Queen decides you have earned the right."

And with that she turns and walks out of the hallway to where the others are searching. And I chuckle to myself, hmm, she's full of surprises.

* * *

The others have gathered all that they could from the containers. Fry says that they may be able to pull the emergency strip lighting out of the cockpit on the other side. There is a moment of silence while they contemplate what that entails.

Silently, they gather everything they have found, which isn't much. Paris's bottle of liquor, a few more flashlights, some rope, and some of the straps from the shipping containers.

Fry slowly opens the container door, sliding it along the track, all the while using the torch to check for the monsters. They begin to move outside, preparing themselves for what feels like the longest 50 yards of their lives.

"Stay close." Fry whispers.

And they slowly inch their way forward, Johns and Riddick bringing up the rear.

"Okay, wait, wait….Riddick." Fry says, calling Riddick to the front to check.

He moves his goggles up his head, scanning the darkness in front of him.

"Looks clear," he says to the others and Johns moves forward now with his shotgun and flashlight aimed at the entrance.

Just as Johns moves to take a step, a monster flies out of the cockpit. Everyone screams and hits the ground.

"You said CLEAR!" Johns hisses still lying flat on his back on the ground.

"I said it _looks_ clear," Riddick corrects.

Johns looks up at the entrance again and asks "Well what's it look like now?"

Riddick perks his head up to look again and replies, "Looks clear."

* * *

Once the emergency lighting has been turned on, the group begins to scatter around to look for supplies. Pieces of the emergency rope lighting are pulled down, a piece of scrap metal siding is found to act as a sled, spark plus are collected and used with the rope to make wicks for the liquor, the emergency power generator is disconnected from the ship, the flashlights are fastened to a seat belt for Riddick to wear on his back.

Riddick walks around inspecting everything that has been gathered and giving instructions for the run. "I'll be runnin' at ten paces ahead. I want light on my back but not in my eyes."

* * *

River's POV

After her work is done, the girl goes in search of the Riddick. She finds him looking out into the darkness. Studying all that he sees; Chopin's Nocturne in C-Sharp Minor plays in his mind. She approaches him, as silently as she can.

"You may be graceful but I can still hear you girl." He says without turning his back.

She just huffs and walks to stand at his side.

"The static is gone." The girl and Orpheus stand there for a few more moments before he speaks.

"Can't concentrate on planning and keeping you out, takes too much damn effort."

"The girl comprehends." They just stand there for the longest time. They just stand and stare at the vast ocean of blackness in front of them.

"You aren't going to make it easy are you?" And the girl knows he is not talking about the run through the valley of the darkness.

"Affirmative. The girl wishes to test the Riddick as he has been testing the girl. Wishes to play her favorite game." The girl says turning to Riddick.

"What who can be the biggest tease?" He remains staring straight ahead, but can see in his peripheral vision the Cheshire cat like grin forming on her face.

"Negative. Girl's favorite game is who's the better killer." He says nothing for a moment, quietly thinking about what she has just said.

"You sure you can keep up? I play dirty; I am one of the monsters."

"So is the girl." The girl says barely above a sigh.

And with that the girl turns to regard the darkness once again, and they stand there contentedly, him inhaling the scent of lavender, and her listening to the music.

* * *

Riddick's POV

As my senses fill with lavender and the desert night, I can't help but stifle a chuckle. Got to give it to the girl, knows how to lure me in; knew to throw just enough out there... damn tease.

"You have a particular mark in mind baby girl?"

Her eyebrow quirks at this, but I am not sure if it is in response to the question or the term of affection.

"Repetition is irksome. It will kill two birds with one stone."

And now it's my turn to arch the eyebrow.

"Orpheus' former employers, the Alliance. They made the Riddick a monster, and made the girl a weapon. The girl meant it when she said they would make them pay." The smile playing at her lips and the smell of cloves fills the air.

"You have a preference?"

"The girl has always liked blades… But minor annoyances must be dealt with first." She motions with her eyes in the direction ol' Billy bad ass went earlier to get his next hit.

"Agreed." I say as I turn and look at the darkness again.

The dangerous glint is back in her eyes, the smirk plays at her lips. Damn, this girl is all kinds of fun.

* * *

It's almost time; they have all begun to gear up for the task ahead.

The only one who isn't around is Johns.

"Where is Mr. Johns?" Book asks looking around.

"Upper hallway to the right." River replies.

"I'll go get him."

Fry finds Johns in the upper hallway like River said, fingering a drug cartridge with his fingers.

"Are you ready Johns?" She asks the doped up merc. He doesn't reply. "Look we're just wasting light here…"

"You give him the cells, and a ship, and he will leave all but that moonbrained reader out there to die. They'll both leave all of you behind."

"I don't get it Johns, what is so god-damned valuable in your life that you're so worried about losing… Besides your next spike." She says as she walks away.

And he begins to smile at this, he knows what's valuable on this rock, and he has no intention of letting Riddick make off with her.

* * *

They are all milling around the entrance now, waiting for the start of the run.

"Are we actually going to do this?" Paris asks.

"We stay together, we keep the light burning."

"There is not enough darkness in all the world to put out the light of even one small candle." Book adds sagely.

Riddick pushes the doors open now, "Alright, here we go."

* * *

River's POV

The girl is aware of the cacophony around her, briefly listens to the thoughts from all sides.

"…**Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me…"**

"**I hate this, I hate this…"**

"**I'm going to get through this, if only for Zeke."**

"…**_Blood, smell it….flows….gushes…."_**

"**Our Father in heaven,_hallowed be your name_…"**

"**Finally found me my big payday…"**

"**_Flesh…starving….need to feed…"_**

But she focuses on the music of his mind. Chopin continues to play, and it calms the girl, gives her the focus she needs.

* * *

Fry, Johns, Book, and Shazza are taking the front of the sled. River, Paris, and Suleiman take the rear. They have wrapped the emergency lighting around their bodies, and placed the emergency generator on top of the cells. It creates a web of light around the group. And although they cannot see them, they know that the monsters are there, just beyond the faint light.

Paris is visibly nervous, the cutting torch has begun to die down and he fumbles for a flare from the sled, but accidently knocks one free. It rolls a short distance into the darkness.

"Wait." Book says as he takes off the rope lighting so he can reach for the flare.

"Book no." Fry says as she watches.

That is when they hear the noise, the echo.

Johns begins firing his shotgun into the air. Hoping to drive back the monsters before they swoop down. Paris is crawling around the floor hoping to avoid the things as everyone feels them fly above their heads.

"This can't be happening."

"Paris get back here!" Fry screams.

Book just has his finger tips on the flare when he feels someone pull him to the side, just as a rush of air is felt to his left. But he also feels immense pain in his leg.

"Are you alright? Shazza asks.

He looks down to see that the beast has left a gash in his lower leg. And blood is beginning to seep out.

"My leg." And as Shazza begins to staunch the bleeding River comes over with extra rope to tie off the wound.

And that's when it happens. The light begins to fade. In the midst of all the confusion Paris had pulled the generator off of the sled.

Fry begins to run around, trying to fix the generator; prop it back up. She is unsuccessfully trying to push the generator back up onto the sled and yelling out at the same time. "Paris! Look at what…"

But that's all she gets out before she feels sharpness in her chest. She looks down at the blood seeping through her shirt, and the spike sticking through her breastbone. And as she starts screaming she is pulled violently upwards into the air.

* * *

Riddick's POV

I hear Fry scream as she is pulled off to her death, but I don't really mind. Bitch had it coming anyways for wanting to kill everyone else to save her own ass. Seems only fair she would be one of the one's to go now.

I can hear Johns again firing wildly into the air but the shots somehow seem off. I know ol' Billy isn't that much of a crap shot, and it seems like he's only trying to play the part. I walk back to where the group is now beginning to huddle around the sled.

"Paris what the hell were you thinking!"

"Why did you do that? If you had just fucking listened!"

The others are laying into Paris for his stupidity. All he can do is hang his head in shame. He knows it is his fault. And Fry's death is hanging heavily on his conscience.

"Well, it's good to see you're okay." Johns says to Riddick as he walks into the light of the newly lit flares and alcohol bottles.

"We must move on, before the furies return," River says. She too is irate at Paris, but sees no need to increase the percentage of danger by harping on the fact now.

And with that, I go back to leading the group, while Johns, River, Shazza, and Sulieman shoulder the straps to the sled as Book limps along between Paris and the girl.

* * *

After about another hour the questions start to rise.

"Are we gettin' close?"

"Can we pick up the pace?"

And that's when Johns looks down. He sees the ruts in the gravel at their feet.

"You want to tell me what's goin' on? We're crossing our own tracks!"

"Listen." Riddick calmly says.

"Why have we circled?" Shazza asks, anger creeping into her voice. "Are we lost?"

"Listen!" He barks out.

"We're close to the canyon now. I circled once to buy some time to think."

"I think we should go now." Johns says, the edge creeping into his voice.

"I don't know about that….That's death row up there….Especially with the Holy man bleeding. They've been nose-open for him for about an hour... "

"Then I will stay here, give you all more time." Book says as he tries to remain calm.

* * *

River's POV

"NO!" The girl screams and all eyes are on her now. Orpheus raising an eyebrow at her outburst.

"The girl will not leave Hermes behind!" She says rather quietly. The others do not seem to notice the name that she has called the shepherd or write it off as her feng-le way of speaking. But Book hears, and his eyes go wide as he realizes what she means by the name.

"So what do we do, go back?" the whelp says, clearly terrified of what he is hearing.

"We're going to have to go back." Shazza says.

"What did you just say?" The girl can feel the blue devil's temper rise at the mere suggestion.

"This isn't going to work. Can we just go back to the ship?" the whelp man timidly replies.

"I don't know…Nice breeze. Wide-open space…I'm startin' to enjoy myself out here!" the blue devil roars.

"Negative, percentage of survival if we return drops to zero. We still have 33.7 percent chance if we continue."

"Are you sure it is the only way?" Shazza asks the girl.

"Affirmative."

"Well, you heard the girl mush on. The canyon's only oh one klick from here, and after that it's shuttle city." There is a pause and no one seems to protest.

"The verdict's in. The light moves forward." The blue devil says as he picks up a strap to the sled, and the others follow suit.

But something is amiss in the blue devils mind. The girl hears calculations running through it. They are calculating how much further they need to go, how hard it would it be to 'dispose' of the woman, Hermes, the boy, and Orpheus, would the girl put up a fight?

And that's when the girl realizes what Johns knows, realizes what his plans are. Silly man, he should know that the best laid plans often go awry. And her own calculations begin in her mind.

* * *

Riddick's POV

Seems odd, seems like he is putting more trust in the girl now, something he didn't want to do earlier. Seems like he should be bitching more, putting up more of a fuss over the situation they are in. And then there are those pulled shots earlier, the ones that were for show. Ol' Billy is planning something; can't quite be sure what yet, but he's definitely got something mulling about in that head of his…

They decide to take a break, give Book a chance to rest and clean off some of the blood before the canyon run. They all huddle together in what little light they have.

I stand apart from them, studying the skeleton that happens to lie nearby. After a few moments, I realizes that their eyes are too far apart. Dead center is a…

"Blindspot."

"Shall we pray together?" The Shepherd says from behind me, which surprises me a little, because even with the limp I didn't hear him.

"I have already prayed with the others…It is painless."

"It's pointless…Two of your boys are already dead….How much faith do you have left, Shepherd?"

"I have faith in that girl that you seem to have taken an interest in."

"You don't know what you are talking about old man."

"Please Riddick, I do have eyes."

I sit down near a flare and because he seems hell bent on annoying me he follows suit.

"I see the way the two of you test each other, trying to see who has more skill, discover any possible weakness in the other. I am surprised Johns hasn't figured it out yet, man with his background."

And this surprises me, for a Shepherd to peg Johns as ex-military is something of interest. "You know Johns is ex-military?"

"I wasn't born a Shepherd, Riddick."

"You will have to tell me about how a Shepherd comes to be so observant some time."

"No, I don't." And with that he gets up and hobbles back over to the others. And all I can think is that the girl and I might not be the only things the Alliance has created in this psycho fuck family of ours.

* * *

Author's Note: I know some of you may be surprised at some of the plot points in this chapter, but like I said, there is a larger story arc being crafted here ;) As always feedback is appreciated.


	9. Chapter 9 Dance, Dance

Sorry for the lag in updating, I was on vacation in Vegas, lol ;) Anyways, warning to all readers: this chapter is going to be a bit more violent than the other's have been. This is when we are going to see exactly how 'dark' River is and what this darker version is capable of ;) I really have to thank divine one for all her hard work as my beta. She gets the credit for the fight scene in this chapter, because I had no clue how to write it and she did an amazing job coming up with something that fit within the story. Hope you all enjoy. As always I own none of the characters, or the books, music, quotes, etc that may be used in this story. Please don't sick the lawyers on me.

* * *

They're continuing on; moving toward the belly of the beast. Shazza, River, Paris, and Sulieman are pulling the cells, while Book walks in between Shazza and River. Johns has moved to the front to walk with Riddick.

"What are they doing up there?" Shazza asks nervously, Johns had been so adamant that Riddick couldn't be trusted yet there he was getting all chatty with him.

River knew exactly what was being discussed, and her blood was beginning to boil at the thoughts streaming thru her mind.

"They are talking about the canyon," she calmly tells everyone. "How to get us through."

* * *

Riddick's POV

"Ain't all of us gonna to make it." Johns whispers to me.

"Just realize that?"

"Seven of us left…If we could make it through the canyon only losing one or two, that'd be quite a feat, huh?"

"Not if I'm one." I know where he is going with this, fits so nicely into the fucked up little plan he probably has in his head.

"Well what if you're one of the five or six who make it?"

"I'm listening." Ol' Billy badass should know better, you aren't supposed to play all your cards at once.

"Battlefield doctors decide who lives or dies. It's called triage."

"Kept callin' it murder when I did it." I say with a slight sneer.

"Either way, I figure it's something you can grab onto…sacrifice play…Maybe hack up a body or two, leave it somewhere while the rest of get to the shuttle."

"Like a bucket of bait?" I ask.

"Drag the bodies 40, 50 feet behind us."

"Nice embellishment." I have to say I am damn impressed Johns thinks he can be so ballsy; especially with me.

"So which one caught your eye?" I say as I turn to look back at the group. I can feel River's probing in my mind, I give her a small nod to tell her I agree, Johns is getting on my nerves too.

"What the hell's wrong with you? You want to let them know we are talking about them?" He says as I look back. "I'm thinking the shepherd and the boy won't be missed too much."

"You don't think the girl would be easier?" I want to see where he's going with this. Isn't like Johns to not go for the easiest targets. And the slip of a girl's appearance definitely suggests an easy target.

"No I think she's more valuable than that."

And that's when it hits me what William J. Johns is planning to do. Fucker really should learn to keep away from what's mine.

* * *

They've reached the entrance to the canyon now, death row; the Hot Gates. They stand and listen for a moment, thousands of echoing chirps fill their ears. No one needs Riddick's eyes to know what's hidden in the darkness.

Simultaneous thoughts are going through River and Riddick's heads.

"_Which sweet spot…which one would be more fun?"_

"_What the ancients called a clever fighter is one who not only wins, but excels in winning with ease…"_

"_The thrill of the hunt, the kill…"_

"_Hunting is not a sport. In a sport, both sides should know they're in the game__, but oh how the girl loves this game…"_

That's when Johns decides he wants to be a cocky son of a bitch.

"So Riddick, what do you think about what we talked about?"

* * *

River's POV

"The girl takes issue with it." The girl is itching for the first point, knows it would irritate Orpheus, which would just make it even more fun.

"Is that so?" And that's when Johns cocks his gun and points it at the girl.

"What is the meaning of this?" Book yells.

The whelp and Shazza are too shocked to move, do not comprehend what is unfolding in front of them, but they both know better than to piss off the man with the gun.

"The Blue devil thinks a 'sacrifice play should be made. Plans to kill Hermes and the boy and leave the bodies here to keep the things busy." The girl says as the others back away in fear at what they are hearing.

"Gorram fuckin' readers." Johns says. "Riddick thinks we need bait too!"

"Now when did I say that?" the Riddick says. "Personally, I think we need better bait…And I think I'm looking at it too…" he says smugly.

The girl can hear Ave Maria playing in her mind as her calculations come to completion. She smiles as she hears the music.

Before anyone can further process or comprehend, the girl has used the opportunity to yank the gun from the blue devil's hands. She is now aiming it at him instead. His face pales dramatically, and she smirks in satisfaction.

"Remember that moment the Riddick spoke of? Well, you should have never left the girl unchained once you figured out who she truly was, as you know, she's worth so much more, and for good reason..."

"You were one brave fuck before…You were really bad-ass." The Riddick says as he circles Johns like panther stalking its prey.

"The chains…The gauge…The badge…I told you to ghost me…"

But before Riddick can move into strike, to connect with the sweet spot, the girl has fired two shots into the blue devil's stomach. He falls like a bag of rocks. He is withering in pain as the girl shoulders the gun and moves back towards the others.

"One point." The girl says as she looks at a very tense Riddick.

Shazza and the whelp visibly back away from the girl as she approaches, The shepherd just stands tall, again nodding his head in understanding.

"Advantage will expire in 3 minutes, 22 seconds. We must leave immediately to avoid further losses."

"You heard the girl, let's get the fuck out of here. Unless any of you want to keep Johns here company?" the Riddick says motioning to the writhing sacrifice. Shazza, Paris, and Sulieman do not know what to be more afraid of, the monsters in the darkness, or the two in front of them.

The girl answers their thoughts. "Persephone and Orpheus are far worse, but we won't leave the flock in the storm."

It takes a moment, but they recover from their shock, grabbing the straps to the sled, and they all walk into the canyon, leaving a still screaming Johns in their wake.

* * *

Riddick's POV

GORRAM GIRL TOOK MY FUCKING KILL! Johns was supposed to be MY kill! Five fucking years I wanted to go shiv happy and she uses a gorram gun to make the kill. I am going to have to have words with her when we get our asses off this rock. There is no skill in using a gun, shouldn't count in my opinion…

* * *

…Reality Shifts…

The girl cannot help think of the first time, the first time she felt the rush, the adrenaline pumping through her veins; the excitement. She feels it all over her body once again. They had begun innocently enough, the Video interviews to monitor her 'progress.' Dr. Vincent had been assigned to her case.

At first he comforted her, told her what an important contribution she was making to the Alliance. That she would make a difference. But the girl heard his thoughts, heard what they had planned for the girl…And she felt trapped, trapped in a cage with no way out.

And each time they met, she felt the despair grow, felt it start in the depths of her stomach, and progressed little by little each time. He told her that it was impossible to transfer, reminded her of how 'slow' the other classes had been, told her she was special, told her that she meant so much to them, that Dr. Mathias was so proud.

And the more they did, the more they probed, stuck more needles in her, the more the resentment grew. It was consuming her, eating away at her from the inside. . And that's when the girl realized what must be done. She realized that bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host…until there is nothing left but an empty shell…

…But anger? Anger is different… It is like fire. It burns it all clean…

She is in her 'room' when it dawns on her, when she first begins to hear the music. And the girl smiles a genuine smile, moved by Requiem Mass: Lacrimosa playing in her ears.

She begins to play the part that they want, tell them the things they want to hear. He says he is so proud, that she is accomplishing so much.

It is a few weeks later that she tells the man she hears something, has a secret... but tells him she cannot tell…couldn't possibly tell…But if she could write it down…write down the words she cannot seem to find, then he would understand…understand the beautiful words that she hears…

He hands her a pen and a piece of paper from his notebook, and she begins to write… and after a moment she hands the paper back to him…

_We are each our own devil, and we make this world our hell…_

And before he realizes his mistake the pen is lodged in his throat. She sits as primly as an girl of high society as the blood gushes from him, splashing onto the table…Once he has slumped over in his seat she stands, walks to the two cameras and stares into one…

"I can see you…" And she smiles a very deadly smile.

…Reality Shifts again…

* * *

River's POV

The girl can feel Orpheus' anger roll off of him like a tidal wave. He is irate at the girl for 'cheating.' The girl just thinks he is being a baby because she got the first kill. Orpheus never established rules. The girl will just have to establish that he stated he plays dirty before the game began, therefore he cannot be upset with the girl for doing the same.

* * *

They are about halfway through the canyon when blue liquid, thick and slimy, starts to fall down on them from the sky.

"DON'T LOOK UP!" Riddick barks out.

But Sulieman doesn't listen. He glances upwards and stops in his tracks. "They are killing each other!" He shrieks.

"KEEP MOVING!" River and Riddick both yell.

But it doesn't do any good. The creature has seen its opportunity and swoops down and spears the boy. A moment later it ascends into the darkness once more.

"Sulieman!' Book cries as drops to his knees and he raises his arms into the darkness, as if somehow the boy will be delivered back to him.

"Come on, get him up." Shazza says. And that's when the next creature decides to try and grab a piece of meat. It knocks loose a piece of rock from the canyon wall Shazza. She falls beneath the weight of the rock, trapped, and feverishly tries to fight off the beast.

"Get off her!" River screams, she leaps towards Shazza and begins slicing at the fury with her shiv.

That's when she hears a roar, and sees Riddick come and break the creature's neck in one quick twist.

"Did not know who it was fucking with." Riddick says as he looks at River.

Paris and Book pull Shazza free from the rock and the group quietly reconfigures themselves. Riddick and River take over pulling the cells.

They get all of ten feet when the unthinkable happens. It's slow at first, but then the rain begins to pour like a deluge. The alcohol flames are quickly extinguished despite Shazza and Paris' best efforts to keep them dry.

And with this Riddick lets out a laugh like no other. "So where the hell's your god now?"

River stands stock still, the whispers keeping her from focusing on the music. Their odds for survival dwindling quickly, she yells "Hide here! Now!" Is all she can think of as she identifies a small alcove in the canyon wall.

They all run to seek immediate shelter from the rain and the monsters who they suspect are circling them like vultures. Book, Paris, and Shazza immediately scramble in, but as River goes to enter, Riddick pushes her back as he places a large boulder in front of the alcove.

"Why are they still out there?" Paris asks nervously.

* * *

River's POV

"What is the meaning off this?" The girl asks.

"We take the cells ourselves, less risk that way."

There is static in his mind, she can tell he is not being truthful, she knows something is not right. There is no time to think, no time to calculate and this bothers the girl.

"Come on! Before those things get ballsy again!" The Riddick is now dragging the cells up the incline in front of them, and she jogs to where he is and begins to pull with all her might.

Everything is made more difficult by the rain and the sand that provides no traction. It seems like it is three steps forward and one step back. The girl and the Riddick are both panting heavily as they reach the top of the incline of the canyon's mouth.

They begin running full speed to the settlement now, with the girl just following the Riddick's every move, trusting his eyes.

After fifteen minutes of sprinting they reach their salvation. They drag the cells up into the shuttle and the girl immediately starts to connect them to the shuttle.

As River connects the cells Riddick walks to the control panel and begins to power up the shuttle. The lights flicker on and River lets out a breath that she didn't even know she was holding. She is connecting the sixth cell now, but stops as she is about to complete the connection. She hears music again, and she does not like what she hears.

* * *

River's POV

"What is the meaning of this?" She says as she stands and faces Riddick seated in the pilot's seat.

"Looking after us." he says while he begins to input flight coordinates.

"What? NO!" She hoists the gun she still carries and aims it at the Riddick's back. He stops moving his hands as he hears her cock the gun.

He turns to her now and rises from the chair. "Fuck them River. You think they give a damn about you? People like that don't give a damn about people like us!"

"The girl will not leave them to die."

"You don't think they would leave you? Where were people like that when we needed someone to fight for us? Were they there when the Alliance arrested me on false charges? When they threw me in the slam? Branded me an animal? Were they there to keep them from cutting into your brain little girl?"

"They are not the Alliance. Do not hold them responsible for the mistakes of others."

"Little girl I will do what I damn well please." As he makes to grab the gun from her the girl throws it out the shuttle doors.

"You really want to do this little girl?"

"You wanted to see the girl dance."

They begin to circle each other like jungle cats fighting over hunting territory. Slowly moving out of the shuttle and back outside. She had done the calculations as to who would win the fight but continually came o different outcomes each time she ran the calculations. While her training was superior to his, he outweighed the girl and could therefore put more power behind his strikes. While she was more agile than him, he had superior speed. There were too many variables to account for to produce a consistent answer to the equation.

"Only one rule, stay in the light." Riddick says.

River acknowledges with a slight head nod and then proceeds to launch herself at him, and they become a flurry of limbs.

* * *

River's POV

Although her calculations had been incomplete, her understanding of their strengths and weakness were correct. She was, perhaps, just a bit more agile than him, and he a bit faster than her. But these differences seemed to balance them. Upset though she was with Orpheus, she was still able to appreciate the beauty and strength and skill of his moves.

As she swung her left leg out in a low arch, attempting to drop him to the ground, he read her body and leaping just in time, he cuffed her small frame as it was off balance, and instead of him being the one lying on his back on the ground, it was she who lay there.

She could hear him chuckle at the sight of her splayed there in the dirt, and her anger spiked. Catapulting her frame into a standing position, she punched the Riddick with her right hand, catching the left side of his face flat on.

He stopped chuckling.

"Listen little girl -"

She swung out again hitting him in the same spot and following this punch with a kick to the stomach.

He didn't fall, but he did stumble back a few steps. He lifted his hand to his jaw, where a sliver of blood was edging its way out of his mouth. Looking at the blood on his finger, he licked at it then lifted his eyes to the girl who was standing with her hands on her hips, a smirk on her face.

"Well okay, if that's how you want to play."

An old earth-that-was song played and swelled around her, soft pants of breath escaping her and him, grunts of exertion as he warded off her swift attacks, mews of frustration as they bested one another. And all she could hear was _"Dance, Dance…"_

_We're falling apart to half time__  
__Dance, Dance__  
__And these are the lives you'd love to lead__  
__Dance, this is the way they'd love__  
__If they knew how misery loved me_

They danced around the lit shuttle, blow after blow, kick after kick, caress after caress warming bodies that had been dormant for too long.

_You always fold just before you're found out__  
__Drink up its last call__  
__Last resort__  
__But only the first mistake and I..._

"Give up and get on the gorram ship little girl." Riddick ordered as he ducked out of the way of a kick aimed at his temple.

"Persephone will not leave the flock behind." The girl shouted as she nimbly moved out of the way of a punch.

_I'm two quarters and a heart down__  
__And I don't want to forget how your voice sounds__  
__These words are all I have so I'll write them__  
__So you need them just to get by_

They were both of them dancing on the edge, the edge of frustration, the edge of the sexual tension that had been building in them since they became aware of one another.

_Why don't you show me the little bit of spine__  
__You've been saving for his mattress, love…_

They were also dancing on the edge of the ground lit by the shuttle.

_Dance, Dance…_

_

* * *

_

RIDDICK'S POV

Riddick watched the girl shimmy backwards, readying herself for another attack and out of the corner of his eye, he saw one of the creatures, edging closer to the shuttle. To River.

Enough of this!

* * *

RIVER'S POV

Moving faster than she had thought he could, the Riddick reached out for the girl, not with a closed fist as previously, but with an open hand. He pulled at her, using his full weight to toss her in towards his body and as he did so, she felt the faint cold, wet touch of a wing of one of the creatures passing over her leg.

She had let the music, their dance, make her careless. And Orpheus had saved her.

To a degree.

… she felt the edge of the shiv that he held against her neck.

* * *

Riddick's POV

"RICHARD WILL REMOVE THAT THING FROM THE GIRL'S NECK…NOW" River huffs and the scent of her anger is filling my nostrils, it is like pepper spray, and I know she is seething with frustration.

"Shut up!" And I press the shiv a little harder to emphasize my point.

There is a moment of silence between us, punctuated by the echo of a creature nearby.

"You'd die for them?"

"The girl would try for them."

"You didn't answer me." She pauses before she answers my question.

"Yes_, I would_…_I would _die for them."

"How interesting." And I release the shiv from her neck and stand up.

* * *

Author's Note: Feedback is always appreciated =).


	10. Chapter 10 The Rain Song

Okay so we are finally coming to the end of the Pitch Black portion of the story, which means that after this chapter we are going to start seeing some other familiar faces pop up =) Please be advised that I may not update as fast as I have in the past as I am beginning to write my MA thesis. I will try and update as much as possible, but just keep this in mind.

Thank you to all that are following the story, it really means a lot that you guys take the time to read my updates. Thanks to Sere011, Rachet, Elliesmeow, ArtLightLove, NightStar28, Rianeliza, Nightraven81, MizundastoodLuva, and Moody-Muse for the recent reviews =) As always thanks to my beta divine_one for doing an amazing job.

I own nothing of Pitch Black, Firefly, and other pop culture references in this story so please do not sue me.

* * *

They stand there for a minute, neither one moving out of the other one's hold. Riddick breaks the silence with a guttural laugh.

"So what's in this suicide mission for me?" he says as he pulls away from River and begins to walk back up into the shuttle.

"The girl knows the truth." River says, but Riddick continues to walk into the shuttle.

"The girl knows what you are…Furyan." And that is when Riddick stops dead in his tracks and slowly turns to face her.

* * *

Riddick's POV

It's been so long since I have heard that name, and even then it was mostly in my dreams, nothing but a whispered voice calling to my animal side. How could she know that name?

"The girl's head was filled with many things in the Academy." She answers my unspoken question.

"Anything you want to share?" I say.

"Negative. The girl will do no such thing until Orpheus returns to guide the flock to safety." She says as she puts her hand on her hip, as if to show she means business. This just annoys me all over again, I won the damn fight, she shouldn't be arguing anymore.

"Listen girly, I won that little fight, you have no more say in the matter, so get your gorram ass back on the shuttle so we can get the hell off this rock." The anger she is creating in me is clearly evident in my voice now.

"No." And she takes a step back into the rain, closer to the edge of darkness round the shuttle.

"Step inside. Now River." I say as I take a step towards her.

"No." And she takes another step back.

"Don't make me drag you on here."

"The girl can easily sprint into the darkness before the Riddick can catch her."

"AHHH! Why are you being so gorram difficult?" I practically roar at her.

"Because the Riddick is being unworthy! Unworthy of his birthright!"

"You don't know anything about me little girl!"

"The girl knows more than you think! They came with their needles, their gilded intentions; they stripped the girl bare and created a weapon in her place. But they gave the girl too much, allowed her to read their secrets without even knowing it. You, Riddick, are one of those secrets."

"And you can tell me all about it when you get your gorram ass up on this shuttle."

"Negative. The girl **will** tell you all that she knows, all the secrets that she has been burdened to carry, but information comes at a price."

I stand there contemplating what she is asking of me, asking us to do. To turn around and run back into the danger. Is it worth it? Is it worth the risk?

Do I really want to know the truth about myself?

Again she answers my unspoken questions. "You have been blind for far too long Riddick."

There is a moment of silence where all that is heard is the rain beating on the hull of the shuttle and the ground. We both just stand there, unwilling to move.

"You really like being difficult don't you?" I ask her.

"Affirmative."

* * *

River's POV

The Riddick moves further into the shuttle and sits in one of the passenger seats on the side of the shuttle's hull. He knows they need a plan before they run back out into the night, and the girl can see different scenarios and outcomes running through his head. "So how are we going to do this then? Fly this thing to them?"

The girl walks into the shuttle now, confident that he will not leave the others and sits opposite of Orpheus.

"Negative, flying the ship into the canyon is not an option. Width of the canyon is too small to adequately accommodate wingspan of the shuttle."

"What about moving it half way there?"

"Again, negative. Probability that engines would restart after being fired once is only five percent. Engines will fire initially, but repeat performance is highly unlikely."

"There anything we can rip out of this shuttle to use for light for them?" He says somewhat hopefully while looking around the small shuttle bay.

"Negative. The girl is afraid to tamper with the mechanics due to the instability of the fuel cells. If we are to do this, we go in darkness."

"Ai ya tian a!Ti wo de pi gu." Riddick curses. "So it's just you and me against everything out there?" He says jerking his head out the shuttle doors.

"Affirmative, but nothing in the verse can stop us if we try hard enough." A feral grin again plays at the girl's lips as she stands and walks to look out the shuttle doors.

"Well at least that's some comfort." Riddick says as he joins the girl.

* * *

Just like they had earlier that night, River and Riddick are once again standing silently looking out into the darkness they must face. Again, he inhales the scent of lavender that swarms around him, and she listens to Chopin again as the music that fills her ears.

"You sure you want to do this?" Riddick asks her without turning to face her.

"Repetition is irksome." She says with a slight hint of annoyance.

"You realize I am only doing this because your feng-lei ass won't tell me anything if I haul you off this rock by force. Dong-ma?"

"Negative. You lie to yourself. While the truth is important to you, it is not the main factor. You want to be worthy of the girl, the dancer, the Queen, therefore you do this as a way to prove your worth." A devilish smirk begins to play on her mouth.

"Fucking readers," is all Riddick can say as he begins to walk out of the shuttle with her following close behind.

* * *

Surprisingly the duo makes it back to the mouth of the canyon without encountering one of the monsters. Lady luck is finally throwing them a bone…that, or the creatures are lying in wait for easier targets, neither of them knows which.

Riddick begins to move the boulder from the entrance to the small alcove that the others were hidden in.

* * *

Paris, Shazza, and Book begin to huddle together as they see the boulder at the entrance to the alcove begin to shake and move a little. They each hold onto the other afraid of what is going to come at them when the boulder dislodges. It finally moves away completely and they stare into the darkness afraid of what is going to come next.

That is when River pops her head in, a huge smile plastered to her face, and then she quickly moves to the side so the others can see Riddick.

"Anyone not ready for this?" Riddick asks.

"There is my God, Mr. Riddick." Book says; relief evident in his voice.

Shazza, Paris, and Book begin to emerge from the little alcove now, peering around as they do to make sure the creatures aren't there.

"You sure you can run on that bum leg shepherd?" Riddick asks.

"I can manage. Someone once said we must embrace pain and burn it as fuel for our journey." Book replies. River nods her head to agree with this.

"Alright, so it's a five hundred meter dash from here to the shuttle and then we are out of here, dong-ma?" Riddick says. They all nod their heads and begin to link hands, Riddick leading and River in the back.

"_Ren ci de Fo zu qing bao you wo men_." Book says solemnly under his breath. And with that the group begins to run into the darkness towards their salvation.

As they come to the hill at the mouth of the canyon Riddick stops and crouches behind a rock. Just up ahead there are four of the creatures stalking each other for food, each getting ready to pounce on the other.

"When I say go, you run and you don't stop till you reach the shuttle, dong-ma?" He says in barely a whisper. They rest of the group nods their heads they understand.

Riddick rises to stands and the others do the same, each tightening their grip on the other hands that they hold. The monsters have moved to allow enough room for the group to run single file through them, and Riddick sees the opportunity.

"GO!" and they begin to run again.

* * *

Riddick's POV

"Don't stop!" I say as we run as fast as we can just out of reach of the creature's claws. I can hear them fly into the sky, probably to better assess our weak points, but I don't think about what will happen when they descend, just how much further we have to go.

"Come on! Move! You know the way!" Everyone is scrambling up the slipper hill at the mouth to the canyon now, only three hundred more yards to go. I stop and turn and pull Paris and Book up the hill towards the top. River is pulling Shazza with all her might.

They reach the top as the creatures start to descend from the sky and drop down right behind us. All I can do is scramble up the hill backwards to make sure one of these fuckers doesn't skewer me from behind.

* * *

They run as fast as they can now to the shuttle, weaving in between the containers and the buildings. They can see the faint glow of the shuttles lights now and each of them begins to push themselves a little more.

"On board. Come on. Get on." Shazza says as she runs up the ramp. But when River stops before the ramp and turns around, she realizes that they are missing one person; Riddick has fallen behind.

* * *

Riddick's POV

All I can do is run, run towards the shuttle. Nothing else matters, I just have to get there, get to the light. I am to the settlement now, rounding the corners of the buildings. That's when one of those things flies down right in front of me, and instinct takes over.

I stop and stand stock still; right in the middle of creature's blind spot; mimicking its movements like a mirror. It moves like a shark swimming through the water, side to side, slowly, and just as deadly. It opens its jaws in front of me, and rows of sharp jagged teeth stare at me.

After another minute of the mimicking, the creature turns the opposite way, and I begin to back away, barely willing to breathe and alert the creature to my presence.

But then I hear it, the echo of another creature. And I turn and face one as it runs out of the shadows boxing me into the narrow corridor. The one in front of me now turns around face and stares at me. It's a Mexican standoff, each creature wanting to rip into my flesh and not wanting the other one to have its meal.

A minute or so passes with each of the monsters glaring at me and then at one another, and I slowly begin to raise my shiv to the ready.

* * *

River's POV

"Wait. We must wait for Orpheus."

"River please! Come." Book says pleading with her to get onto the shuttle.

"Let's get out of here." Paris interjects, but still the girl does not move towards the shuttle. When she doesn't say anything he screams at her. "We are signing our own death warrant waiting for him!"

This triggers a response from the girl and she turns and faces Paris and the look she gives him causes him to visibly flinch. "The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time."

"You would die for him! You are feng-le!" And with that he retreats onto the shuttle and out of the rain. Shazza just shakes her head and joins Paris inside, and Book and River are left standing outside in the rain.

"Are you sure we can afford to wait child?" Book asks the girl.

"The Queen will not leave him behind. He has earned her respect and trust. He is not the monster you make him out to be."

Book takes a deep breath at this, allowing her words to sink in. Another minute passes before he answers. "For my part I believe in the forgiveness of sin and the redemption of ignorance." And a slow smile spreads across the girl's face.

"Thank you Hermes, we will need your guidance soon, and the girl appreciates your understanding."

That is when they hear a loud scream from the distance. And each turns back to face the darkness of the settlement. The girl does not think and just begins to run back into the night to find the Riddick.

As she rounds the first corner, she pauses and listens again, using both her ears and mind to try and find him. She can hear music, but it is faint, and many songs are jumbled together she cannot distinguish which ones are playing.

She continues to stealthily move around the buildings. Trying to block her mind to everything but the music, but she cannot help but feel her own heart beat begin to beat faster.

As she turns to look down another pathway she hears a noise behind her, and as she turns she see the Riddick, slumped over behind some drum barrels, bloodied, and unstable due to a large gash in his left leg. Lying on the ground beside him are two bodies; the bodies of two dead creatures.

Instinct and training takes over and she runs to him and throws her arms around his waist.

"Okay. I have you, I have you Riddick." She says as she begins to help him to his feet. As he puts weight onto his left side he begins to fall to the ground.

Adrenaline is pouring full force through her veins and she screams at him. "Come on, Riddick! Get up! GET UP!" as she again goes to help him to his feet.

"I said I'd die for them, not you." She says to him trying to arouse some anger, irritation, anything to provide some motivate him. It seems to work and he pushes himself up and begins to walk forward a bit with her help.

"Let's move. Come on." But that's when the girl's blood runs cold, when she hears the familiar echo, the familiar rush of air from wings. Her eyes widen and for the first time in a long time she is afraid, afraid of what she hears, afraid of the disjointed whispers…_Blood…Flesh…MINE!_

* * *

_It is the springtime of my loving - the second season I am to know__  
You are the sunlight in my growing - so little warmth I've felt before.  
It isn't hard to feel me glowing - I watched the fire that grew so low._

It is the summer of my smiles - flee from me Keepers of the Gloom.  
Speak to me only with your eyes. It is to you I give this tune.  
Ain't so hard to recognize - These things are clear to all from  
time to time.

River glances up at Riddick knowing he has heard it too. They stare at each other for the briefest of moments with looks of helplessness on their faces, each trying to communicate so much in what could be their last moment together. Their grip tightens on one another and they both close their eyes as if preparing for the worst.

_Talk Talk - I've felt the coldness of my winter__  
I never thought it would ever go. I cursed the gloom that set upon us...  
But I know that I love you so_

These are the seasons of emotion and like the winds they rise and fall  
This is the wonder of devotion - I seek the torch we all must hold.  
This is the mystery of the quotient - Upon us all a little rain must fall...It's just a little rain...

* * *

But the next sound they hear is not the echo of their death or that of their flesh ripping as they are skewered. No, instead they hear the blast of a shotgun and the beating of wings as something flies away.

Both sets of eyes immediately jerk open and look at the direction of the sound to see Book standing there holding a still smoking shotgun.

"I saw this lying near the shuttle in the rain and thought she may need some help." He says as he motions towards River and walks forward to help her shoulder the weight of Riddick's body. They begin walking the hundred meters back to the shuttle now, nothing more being said.

They walk up the ramp and into the shuttle and Paris and Shazza immediately get up to help Book and River bring Riddick in.

"What the bloody hell happened?" Paris says looking at Riddick's disheveled form.

"Thing didn't know who they were fucking with," Riddick says with a chuckle as he slumps to the floor of the shuttle allowing Shazza to bandage his leg.

That's when River begins to laugh, slowly at first, then a loud booming laugh that fills the entire shuttle bay. Everyone turns and looks at her as her laughs become sobs, and as tears begin to stream down her face she runs and throws her arms around Riddick's neck and clings to him, still crying.

"Shh, it's okay…Shh I'm right here." Riddick says as he begins to run a comforting hand up and down her back.

But that's when she surprises everyone; she pulls back from Riddick and punches him in the jaw. There is an audible crack in the shuttle and they all grimace at the noise. "Richard B. Riddick!" she practically screams. "If you ever scare the girl like that again she will deliver you to a death worse than anything you could imagine!" She says as she gets up and walks to the control panel to shut the shuttle doors and begin the launch sequence.

Riddick moves a hand to rub at the shock of pain on his cheek and begins to chuckle. Behind him the shuttle door is beginning to close.

"What's so funny about all of this? The feng-le girl just threatened to kill you!" Paris asks as he still stands in shock at what he saw.

"Yeah, so?" Riddick says. "She's cute when she's scary; hell, I kinda think she is scarier than those things out there." He says as Shazza begins to bandage his leg again.

"Cute but psychotic, guess things even out." Shazza deadpans as she wraps Riddick's leg.

"Well then you're a match made in Hell, a feng-le killer woman and an escaped psychotic convict." Paris retorts.

Book joins in with Riddick laughing at Paris's comment. His laugh dissolving into one like River's a few moments before.

"What do you find so funny about this shepherd?" Paris asks somewhat amazed at what he is seeing.

"You're right they are a match made in Hell. All hail the rulers of the Underworld." Book replies, between booming laughs. This just makes Riddick laugh harder and Shazza begins to chuckle as well.

"You're all mad, every one of you!" Paris says.

"Can't help that Paris, we're all mad here." River says from behind him, startling him and making him jump. Book, Shazza, and Riddick just begin to laugh harder at his jumpiness.

"Everyone strap in, the girl is getting us off this rock." River says as she turns back towards the controls.

The chuckling subsides and Shazza and Book move to help Riddick to a seat. Once they were all strapped in River began to initiate the launch.

"All systems go," she says as the engines begin to whirl to life and propel the small shuttle forward. "Breaking atmo in 5…4…3…2…1…"

* * *

Riddick's POV

After the initial launch I could feel the relief from the others roll off their skin in waves. We had made it. Our psycho fuck family made it, battered for sure, but alive. I took over flying after about an hour or so to give River a chance to rest. I could hear her talking with Shazza in the back, laughing, and enjoying their conversation.

That is when the shepherd came and sat in the co-pilot seat. "A lot of questions whill be asked by whoever we run into… merc ship or an Alliance cruiser." He says looking out into the vast ocean of stars in front of us. "So, what do we tell them about you?" he says.

I stop and think for a moment before replying "Tell them Riddick's dead…He died somewhere on that planet." The shepherd merely nods his head to agree.

"So what will you do? Now that you have a certain freedom, being dead and all?" He asks.

At first I don't say anything, consciously weighing out options in my head. I can go and run off to some backwater planet with the girl and live the fucked up fairytale with the happy ending and all, but that doesn't really sit well with me. Based off what I saw of the girl's 'dancing' earlier, I know I want to see more.

"Girl mentioned something about dropping in on some folks here and there; think I may stick with her for a while." I reply. "That is after we drop you and the other two off on New Mecca."

"I've been thinking about that actually, I've been out of the world for a spell... like to walk it a while. Maybe bring the word to them as need it told. So I wouldn't mind tagging along with you and River." He replies while still looking out at the stars.

"Interesting," is all I say as a girlish laugh punctuates the space again and the shepherd turns to look back at where River and Shazza are still talking.

"She is quite extraordinary isn't she?" the preacher says.

I don't respond to him though, which apparently he takes as his cue to continue. "If you take sexual advantage of her, you're going to burn in a very special level of hell. A level they reserve for child molesters and people who talk at the theater."

At this I cannot help but chuckle, "I think you got it wrong old man, I would be more worried about her taking advantage of me. If that girl wants something, she seems to take it. Like when she took my fucking kill from me back there," there is a bit of irritation in my voice as I remember I still need to have words with her on the rules to our little game.

"I'm not even going to ask what you mean by that right now." He says with a somewhat amused air in his voice, and with that he goes back and sits with the others, leaving me in silence.

* * *

River's POV

After the others have drifted off into slumber, the girl makes her way forward to sit next to the Riddick as he pilots towards the shipping lanes. She sits in the seat horizontally, so that her legs hang over the side and she can face him.

"Your point doesn't count." Is all the Riddick says without turning to face her.

"The girl sees no issue with her actions earlier."

"That's kill should have been mine, you used a gun, it was cheating."

"There were no aforementioned rules when the game was agreed upon by both parties. Therefore, the girl has one point to the Riddick's zero." A sly smile forming as she says this.

"Guns don't require any finesse, they are quick and dirty, and therefore it shouldn't count."

"But you are the one who said you play dirty, the girl sees no problem with doing so herself." And the girl giggles as she sees the Riddick's jaw tighten.

* * *

Riddick's POV

Damn that girl for using my own words against me. "Fine…but no more guns, dong-ma?" I say as I turn to look at her squarely in the eyes.

"The girl comprehends."

"And another thing, try talkin' in the first person every once in awhile, third person makes you stick out like a sore thumb."

"Understood." She replies.

"And another thing, you better think twice before you ever sucker punch me again, you won't get away with it next time without being punished."

"Oh that sounds all kinds of exciting." And the scent of cloves begins to ooze of her skin. As I inhale it I am almost instantly aroused and curse her in my mind.

"I can't help it you like the way I smell when I think certain things." River says as she moves like a lynx from her seat to straddle me. And again I curse the smell of lavender and cloves.

"Gorram readers." I say as she places her hands around my neck, soft finger tips gently caressing the back and drawing little circles. My hands instinctively go to her hips and I begin to mimic her motions.

"So you have a destination for where to start our 'game'?" I ask her, trying to control the urge in my stomach to push her against the console and claim her right there.

"Affirmative. The planet with the girl's name will be an adequate point to start the contest. There is an Alliance official stationed there that should be able to provide further information as to the locations of other officials." She rocks her pelvis back slowly as she says this and again I suppress the urge building inside me.

I nod my head in acknowledgment and then say through gritted teeth. "Shepherd says he wants to stick around with us for awhile."

"His presence will be beneficial, allow us to access privileged information."

"Interesting," I reply again through gritted teeth as the girl begins to trace her fingers over my shoulders, lightly leaving red trails as her nails scratch the skin. "You're playing with fire girly, you know that right?"

"Yes, I do. However, in the duel of sex, a woman fights from a dreadnought and man from an open raft."

"Is that so?" I say as I grab her hips and push her against me so she can feel exactly what she is doing to me.

"Yes, and present circumstance mean that I can get away with it." She attempts to get off of me before I grip her hips roughly.

"Where do you think you're going?" I ask her.

"The girl is tired and wishes to rest her eyes."

"So what's to stop me from taking what I want?' I ask in a dangerous tone.

"The fact that there is not enough room for us to dance properly?" She says as she smiles.

"You sure about that? I seem to think you against a wall would be enough room."

"Not for the first encounter. The girl wishes for the first dance to be a true demonstration of abilities and not a quick and dirty display." I can't help but begin thinking about what her words could mean and in that time she gets off of me and walks back toward where the others are sleeping.

She pauses before she is out of whispering range and ever so slightly turns her head towards me and answers my unspoken question. "Your assumptions are correct. The girl enjoys the taste of blood too."

Damn, that girl for being such a tease, special hell here I come.

* * *

Author's Note: Hope you all enjoyed this chapter.


	11. Chapter 11 Mad World

I have to say I am tickled pink by the reviews I have been getting as of late. They really make the effort I put into this story worthwhile, and they make me want to continue. So to all of you reading/reviewing, you can breathe a sigh of relief knowing this story will not be ending any time soon. =) But, like I said last time, please be patient with my updates. Writing an MA thesis is hard work and does take priority right now.

Thank you: EternityInYourArms, Julian Carax, Moody-Muse, NightStar28, DarkDreamer1982, ArtLightLove, serenitie1, CeruleanKitten, Chibiboku, Rianeliza, White-Dragon-of-Hope, and Elliesmeow for the great reviews. They put a huge feral grin on my face ;) And thanks to my amazing beta divine_one for all the help and effort proofreading my story.

Unfortunately I don't own the characters, verses, songs, etc in this story, it's all for fun, so please don't sue me.

* * *

…Reality Shifts…

She's standing in her old house, not home, because she never felt loved or welcome there. Its twelve years ago, and she watches as Simon, fifteen years old, works diligently on his homework at the coffee table.

The girl sees her younger self pop her head up over the couch. "We're in trouble." And then duck her head down again. Simon does not respond to the seven year old girl.

Again she pops her head up over the couch. "We got cut off!" And again ducks back down.

Simon realizing he will not be allowed to finish his work in piece decides to answer her. "Cut off from what?" he says as he rolls his eyes.

The girl now jumps over the couch to sit and face her brother. "Our platoon, Simon. We got outflanked by the independent squad, and we're never going to make it back to our platoon…" Simon just rolls his eyes again and returns to his work, not wanting to listen to his sister's insistent ramblings.

"We need to resort to cannibalism." She says trying to shock her brother into paying attention to her.

"That was fast; don't we have rations or something of the sort?" He asks without looking up.

"They got lost. We're going to have to eat the men."

Now Simon is becoming more annoyed at his sister's interruption and quickly moves to a different topic. "Aren't you supposed to be practicing for your dance recital?"

"I learned it all," she says as she begins to study what her brother was working on. "That's wrong," she says as she points to his portable cortex.

"It's from the book River," he says to defend his answer.

"No, the book is wrong. This whole conclusion is fallacious."

Simon just continues to work. The girl stands there, watching her younger self look dejectedly at her brother, before getting up and walking out of the room.

…Reality Shifts Again…

* * *

River's POV

The girl wakes from her sleep feeling the weight of the sadness her memory carried with it. It has been 36.2 hours since the survivors left Hell, as they had come to call it, and they were now drifting along the shipping lanes.

She looks around the hold and sees that Shazza, Paris, who the girl had taken to calling Narcissus to annoy him, were leaning against each other as they slept; or rather Paris was leaning on Shazza.

Riddick sat in the chair next to the girl, soundly asleep. She had felt him move there a few hours ago after Book had relieved him from his turn at the controls.

The group had decided that Book, Riddick, and River should take turns watching for a passing ships as they were the only ones who could pilot. It was now her turn to relieve Book. The girl moves slowly up to the controls and sits in the co-pilot's seat.

They sit there in companionable silence for a few moments, and then the girl begins to speak.

"_Twas noontide of summer,  
And mid-time of night;  
And stars, in their orbits,  
Shone pale, thro' the light." _

She takes a breath and before she can continue the Book starts at where she left off.

"_Of the brighter, cold moon,__  
__'Mid planets her slaves,__  
__Herself in the Heavens,__  
__Her beam on the waves."_

The girl cannot help but smile at his knowledge of Earth-that-was poetry as she continues the poem.

"_I gazed awhile__  
__On her cold smile;__  
__Too cold- too cold for me-__  
__There pass'd, as a shroud,__  
__A fleecy cloud,__  
__And I turned away to thee…"_

Book now turns to face the girl as he finishes the poem.

"_Proud Evening Star,__  
__In thy glory afar,__  
__And dearer thy beam shall be;__  
__For joy to my heart__  
__Is the proud part__  
__Thou bearest in Heaven at night,__  
__And more I admire__  
__Thy distant fire,__  
__Than that colder, lowly light."_

"Did you sleep well?" Book asks the girl.

"Negative. Memories invade the girl's REM cycles frequently."

"Would you like to…" but before he can finish his question the girl cuts him off.

"It's irrelevant."

"If you would ever like to talk about it, please know that I would be willing to listen." He says with a soft smile.

"Thank you, Hermes. The offer is appreciated." The girl says as she swings her legs off the side of the chair to sit up and begin checking the course settings on the small shuttle.

She had programmed the auto-pilot to set a course for New Mecca, but had calculated that the likelihood of making the trip without being picked up by another vessel was only seventeen percent likely.

Book just sat back and regarded the girl before him while she worked. She was something of a mystery to him, and she knew eventually that they would need to discuss the links between and the Riddick. Now, however, was not that time as the Riddick was sleeping and repetition is irksome.

"Soon all shall be discussed. But first we must deliver the others to New Mecca." The girl says to his unanswered question. He simply nods his head in the affirmative understanding what she means.

They sit in silence for a few more minutes until the girl stops checking coordinates and reprogramming the auto-pilot to conserve energy in the fuel cells.

"Are you familiar with the works of Shan Yu?" Book says to break the silence.

"Psychotic dictator of Earth-that-was, fancied himself a warrior poet; wrote approximately fifty-seven volumes on war, torture, and the limits of human endurance. The girl is familiar with several volumes, why do you ask?"

"He said "live with a man 40 years, share his house, his meals, and speak on every subject. Then tie him up and hold him over the volcano's edge. And on that day you will finally meet the man."

The girl cannot help but let out a small huff at this. "Sadism legitimized by florid prose."

"It makes you think though, about what we have just lived through. Do you think that we have truly met one another yet?" Book says as he drums his fingers lightly on the arm of the chair.

"Negative. While the girl is privy to more information than most due to natural abilities, the people on this ship have yet to truly meet one another. The stimuli were not as powerful as say a volcano, as Shan Yu would put it."

"If **that **wasn't enough then do you believe we will ever meet each other then?" Book says pensively.

"Despite what Shan Yu and others like him think, people continually wear masks."

"All the world's a stage, and all the men and women in it merely players."

"Affirmative." The girl replies, and again they sit in silence regarding the stars in front of them for a few more minutes before Book excuses himself to get some sleep.

* * *

Riddick's POV

I wake up a few hours after the preacher relieved me from my watch. The hull of the ship is dark and only the faint light of the control panel lights the small space. I get up and stretch after sleeping in an uncomfortable position for too long and walk towards the pilot's seat. I rest my arm on the back and look over the edge. River is curled up like a cat in the seat and playing with her long dark brown locks with her fingers.

"Anybody pass us?" I say as I continue to watch her.

"Negative. We have also stopped our forward trajectory. Power from fuel cells needs to be conserved to maintain life support; therefore we are at a standstill."

"How long we got left?"

"At current consumption levels, the shuttle will maintain life support for another seventy two hours."

Great, just great I think as I sit in the other chair. We make it off the damn rock only to end up as objects in space. There must be some poetic irony somewhere. "Don't let the others know for a while, dong-ma? Don't need Paris panicking and trying to open the gorram shuttle door and run outside like he did back there."

The girl giggles at this and nods her head in the affirmative. "There is a sixty six percent chance of being discovered within the next twelve hours. After that time the percentage drops to forty five."

"Had worse odds before." I say as I shrug my shoulders.

"True."

We don't say anything more for awhile, with both of us preferring the quiet and each other's company. River begins humming a song I am not familiar with as she closes her eyes and nods off.

* * *

…Reality Shifts…

The girl is again standing in her parental home on Osiris looking back into her memories. The girl's parental units are throwing some kind of function; lots of fancy people fill the foyer, the den, and other rooms.

_All around me are familiar faces__  
__Worn out places, worn out faces__  
__Bright and early for the daily races__  
__Going nowhere, going nowhere_

After a minute walking through the crowd she sees a dressed up seventeen year old Simon talking with some of their parents friends. They are discussing his future career medicine, how important he will be, how much he can accomplish. She remembers envying Simon at this age. He was the brilliant child, the one easily accepted.

_Their tears are filling up their glasses__  
__No expression, no expression__  
__Hide my head I wanna drown my sorrow__  
__No tomorrow, no tomorrow_

That's when she looks up towards the second level and sees her ten year old self. She is sitting in the shadows of the darkened balcony looking out over the party. Her hair is pulled away from her face, and she is dressed in some ridiculous party dress her mother insisted on that makes her look like the doll she is supposed to be. But her face is far from the perfect porcelain doll's face with a smile painted on. All she sees in the little girl's face is emptiness.

_And I find it kind of funny, I find it kind of sad__  
__The dreams in which I'm dying are the best I've ever had__  
__I find it hard to tell you, I find it hard to take__  
__When people run in circles it's a very, very__  
__Mad world, mad world_

…Reality Shifts Again…

* * *

River's POV

The girl awakens to the sound of the proximity alert going off. Just when it seems that the fates wanted to play a cruel joke on them, they run into some good luck. Shazza, Paris, Book, and Riddick are all near the controls, trying to see what kind of ship is going to be their saving grace.

"It's a mid-bulk transport ship." Book says looking at the screen. "Not from the Alliance fleet." The girl releases a breath she did not know she was holding when he says this.

"Could it be a merc ship?" Shazza asks.

"Negative. A merc ship would be smaller, that way it would be easier to maneuver and cover ground faster." Riddick says. The girl wonders if he realizes he is picking up her speech patterns.

"Well it's burning at full containment so it isn't a Reaver ship," Shazza says. The girl picked up on the vestiges of the others conversation before she had been woken by the alarm. They had been discussing what would happen if they came across a Reaver ship, and Shazza, Paris, and Book had voted for bullets to the brainpans, squish.

The girl's thoughts are interrupted when static over the cortex starts. "They are trying to wave us! We are saved!" Paris says excitedly as he and Shazza begin to hug each other in excitement.

"…_this is…captain of…do you read…."_

"_Ri shao gou shi bing_," the girl says as she begins to fiddle with the controls to reduce the static, After a few moments adjusting the dials, she crawls underneath the control panel on her knees and begins pulling wires.

"Hey watch it feng-le girl! Don't ruin the damn com link so we can't talk to them!" Paris stupidly says.

"The girl is attempting to improve the _gorram_ link _ben dan_!" She says from underneath the panel. Shazza just smacks Paris lightly on the back of the head for his stupid remark.

"…_repeat, this…of the….. ship….you read?"_

"Come on girly, they ain't going to wait all day." Riddick says teasingly.

"_Qing wa kao de liu mang,_" River says as she is shocked by the electrical cable she is stripping. "Would you like to come down here and repair this piece of _gou shi_ then Richard?" The girl can feel the smirk form in his mind as she says this. Stupid male and his flirtatious teasing.

"No I am enjoying the view from where I am thanks." He says while staring at her ass sticking out.

The girl knows that Shazza and Book just roll their eyes at the banter, but Paris is becoming more annoyed. "Can you two psychos flirt with each other later, like after we get rescued?" The girl can hear a soft chuckle from the Riddick at this.

"Done!" River says as she backs out from underneath the control panel. She does so in a way as to rub up against Riddick's hips as she stands and hears a growl from him as she does this. She warned him though.

Book presses the com button down now and begins to speak to their yet unidentified savior. "This is Shepherd Book, passenger from the Hunter Gratzner crash. We request assistance for five passengers." There is no response for a minute, and they all wait on baited breath for a reply.

"_Copy that Shepherd, eta at your position is one hour, y'all okay till then?"_

"Affirmative. See you in one hour."

* * *

Over the next hour the survivors hammer out the details of what they would tell the approaching ship. They would stick to the truth for the most part, that they had crash landed on a hostile planet and that everyone else had died trying to escape the planet and the creatures that stalked it.

But that is all that was agreed on, because for the last forty minutes River and Riddick had been arguing about revealing their identities.

* * *

River's POV

"NO GORRAM WAY! You can't trust people you don't know with your real name girly!" Riddick and the girl are standing nose to nose arguing with each other. Shazza had been smart enough to keep out of the 'discussion' after Paris had received death glares when he attempted to quiet us earlier. Book was just standing there pinching the bridge of his nose has he watched the argument play out.

"There is no reason to hide behind false pretenses! It is not an Alliance ship, it is not mercs! And anyone foolish enough to attempt to turn in the girl deserves the punishment they would get." The girl says with a slight huff.

"Doesn't matter! It's like painting a huge sign on your head that says wanted fugitive."

At this Book begins to interject his opinion. "I have to agree with Riddick on that River, it would be smarter to create a cover identity."

"The girl sees no point in a charade when truth is inevitably revealed despite people's best efforts."

"Take it from someone who knows firsthand child, just humor us on this." Book says as he looks at the now petulant girl.

After a moment of glaring at both Book and Riddick, the girl relents. "FINE!" She says through clenched teeth. "But the girl refuses to appear younger than she is, do not make her into a helpless child."

"Well then quit talkin' in the gorram third person and you won't seem like one dong-ma?" Riddick deadpans.

The girl shoots him another death glare for this comment. "The girl cannot help her speech patterns when she is frustrated or stressed, so lay off and maybe she can, dong-ma?"

Shazza has had enough at this point and pipes up. "Oh would you two knock off the lover's quarrel already!"

Orpheus and Persephone just continue to glare at each other until Hermes speaks up again.

"Fine. Riddick will take over Johns identity and River will be…" he says turning to her so she can fill in the name.

"Elektra King."

Riddick snorts as she says this.

"What?" River challenges.

"You and your damn mythology references."

"If the shoe fits." The girl says smugly.

"What? You saying you killed your mother and have a thing for your father?"

"Yes _I _killed my mother; no_ I_ didn't have a thing for my father. But if _I_ called you daddy would you spank _me_?" She says with a feral grin.

The docking alarm goes off as the girl finishes her question and she moves to engage the shuttle's locks. She cannot help but smirk at Riddick and Book's reactions. While Book's jaw hangs low by his knees, and his mind swims with questions about the veracity of her statements, Riddick looks as if he is about ready to throw her against the wall for a 'dance.' She just smiles more as she hears the click of the larger ship lock on to the shuttle and the music in Orpheus' mind.

* * *

Riddick's POV

That girl's going to be the death of me. It's not fair; she shouldn't say things like that when she knows I can't do anything about it, yet. It's not gorram fair. Special hell be damned, all I want to do is throw her over something and as she said 'spank' her.

* * *

The survivors line up at the back of the shuttle waiting for the doors to open. When they do open they walk forward into the outer portion of the other ship's hold. The main doors are still closed but they can see some movement on the other side of the door. Slowly the other door starts to open and Book, Shazza, Paris, River, and Riddick come face to face with their 'rescuers.'

"If ya'll wouldn't mind raising your hands real slowly, it'd be much appreciated." The man in the center of the room says evenly as he and everyone else raises a gun at the survivors.

It's obvious that he is the man in charge here, and they do as they are told and are promptly frisked by men that walk forward. "They're clear." A rather tall looking man tells the man in the center of the room, and he begins to walk forward. However, he stops half way. "_Ke-wu de lao bao jun! Wo bu shin wo dah yan jing!"_ The man says rather loudly as he begins to laugh.

"_Wo de ma he ta de fen kuang de wai sheng dou_," Riddick says as he lowers his arms.

"You two know each other?" Book asks Riddick.

"You could say that." Both Riddick and the man in charge reply.

* * *

Author's Note: I had to leave it on a cliff hanger, because I am dying to see who you all think it is. ;) As always reviews are appreciated.


	12. Chapter 12 Part 1 Make Me Bad

You guys are awesome. Thanks Nightraven81, Nightstar28, EternityInYourArms, Elliesmeow, DarkDream1982, bibirijks, White-Dragon-Of-Hope, Moody-Muse, CeruleanKitten, ArtLightLove, and lizziebug, for the reviews, they made me very happy on the last chapter and were very much needed to keep me from going crazy while writing my thesis. Special thanks to my amazing beta divine_one =) Okay, so this chapter is going to be a little shorter than what you guys are used to from me, but I didn't want to leave you without an update for too long, and there will be a part 2 to coming soon if I can help it.

* * *

Riddick's POV

There is a moment of silence before anything else is said. But it doesn't last long before we both end up in hysterical laughter. Of all the ships in the galaxy, his had to be the one that finds us first.

"Damn you are a sight for sore eyes boy."

"Sure you can see at all old man?" I say between laughing and stepping forward to shake his hand.

"Who you callin' old? I can still kick your scrawny ass with my hands tied behind my back!"

"Oh I would just like to see you try it ol'man." I say as we trade soft punches on each other's arms.

"Umm excuse me? Someone mind filling in the rest of us here?" Paris says impatiently as he waves his hand to get my attention. I just glare back at him and he takes a step backwards which just makes me mentally laugh.

"Nice to see you're still scaring people Riddick."

I shrug my shoulders at this. "It comes with the reputation." This just makes him crack up into laughter again.

"Aww hell, you ain't that scary, if anything you're like a teddy bear."

"…with fangs." River says with a twinge of amusement in her voice.

"What did you call me ol'man?" I say as I turn back to him in a challenging manner, but he knows it's all for show.

River just lowers her arms and begins to shake her head as she puts her hands on her hips. "War buddies."

I turn back to the others again, Book, Shazza, and Paris still have their arms raised while River just looks highly amused. "You can put your arms down, Monty here isn't going to shoot anyone…well not unless you give him a reason to."

"Aww, now why did you tell them that? Now I can't pretend to be all mean and menacing." Monty says as he mock pouts.

"You two are war buddies?" Book asks with a small amount of surprise in his voice.

"Not everything the Alliance says about me is true Shepherd."

"Come on let's go up to the mess and we can tell ya all about it." Monty says as he begins to walk towards the stairs. He turns around before he reaches them and bellows to the rest of his crew. "What you all staring at? Get your lazy asses back to work!" And with that everyone begins holstering guns and going back about their business as Monty leads us to the mess.

* * *

River's POV

By the time Monty has everyone seated at the larger circular table in the mess, the girl has probed his mind to see if he can truly be trusted. She finds that while his outside appearance is rather gruff, he is more like a large Saint Bernard puppy...with a huge beard.

Book is the first to break into questioning Monty about his and Riddick's past. "So you both fought together in the Unification War?"

"Yeah, during one of my escapes from the slam I joined up with some E-TAC Independent soldiers on Beylix. No one really knew who I was at that time, and they were glad to have another able body to fight. Monty here was my platoon leader."

"Boy was a lot scrawnier then too." Monty says as he claps Riddick on the back. Riddick answers the comment with a glare and the girl can tell that he does not like being reminded of this, she will have to remember that for future reference.

"Anyways, Most of the platoon was captured by the Alliance before the end of the War, but I kept escaping them. I finally just decided to steal one of their shuttles and leave world because most of the platoon was dead or captured."

"Pissed the Alliance off so much they started all the rumors that he killed off most of the platoon himself. They were just too proud to admit one man could evade capture by Alliance soldiers," Monty adds.

"Interesting." The girl replies as she raises an eyebrow at the Riddick.

"So enough with the past, how the hell did you all end up on that life raft we found you on?" Monty asks now that the history portion of the discussion is over with.

"It's a long story." Book says as he pinches the bridge of his nose.

"Well, it ain't like you're going anywhere, so you might as well start talking." Monty replies.

"The Riddick would be the best person to tell you our story." The girl says as she folds forward to rest her elbows and chin on the table. This is going to take a while so she may as well be comfortable.

* * *

…Reality Shifts…

It's dark in the Tam house, quiet, and the curtains billow in the wind of the open window. River sits in her father's favorite chair in Regan and Gabriel's bedroom. She has not bothered to turn on the lights, knowing full well that they will do it for her very shortly.

She can hear the car approaching the driveway, the crunch of gravel beneath the tires. She begins to breathe deeply, closes her eyes, places her hands on the armrests, and crosses her legs at the knee. She is purposefully arranging herself this way, she wants to be unsettling, something that oozes danger, and nothing like the scared little girl they sent away all those years ago.

_**I am watching the rise and fall of my salvation.  
There's so much shit around me.  
Such a lack of compassion. **_

The faint sound of heels on the marble floor can be heard downstairs. She counts the clicks of her mother's shows as they walk up the stairs, 15, 14, 13… She also hears the muffled steps of her father's expensive leather shoes. 9,8,7… They are discussing some matter of business or gossip, River could really care less which it is. 3,2,1…That's when the bedroom door opens, the light is flicked on, and she opens her eyes and looks directly into the faces of her 'parents.'

_**I thought it would be fun and games (would be fun and games).  
Instead it's all the same (it's all the same).  
I want something to do.  
Need to feel the sickness in you.**_

"Hello Mother, Father, did you miss me?" River asks with a wicked grin through a veil of hair.

* * *

…Realty Shifts…

The girl is being pulled out of her 'home' by force. She would scream, but knows it would not do any good. Her 'parents' look on as the men with blue hands drag their daughter out the front door. She is thrown onto a stretcher, and is then strapped down. She feels the bindings cut into her skin as she claws at the hands that hold her down.

"This one is a hellion isn't she?" One of the men with blue hands says. River then proceeds to spit in his face, and is rewarded with a slap across her cheek. She recoils from the force and her eyes begin to fill with darkness.

The last thing she hears as she loses consciousness is a man's voice. "Our sense of power is more vivid when we break a man's spirit than when we win his heart."

* * *

…Reality Shifts…

River is standing before the mirror in Regan and Gabriel Tam's bathroom with the hot water from the sink running. Her hands are braced on either side of the basin and she leans forward slightly inspecting what she sees.

_**I feel the reason as it's leaving me,  
no, not again.  
Its quite deceiving as I'm feeling  
the flesh made me bad.**_

Her hair hangs in long tendrils around her face and it almost looks like snakes. But her hair has lost the shine it had when she was younger. Her skin is the color of milk, but it has an ashen grey hue to it from being kept in her cage. Her eyes are no longer bright and inquisitive; they are jaded and filled with anger.

_**All I wanna do it look for you.  
And when I fix, you needed to.  
Just to get some sort of attention, attention.**_

"Anger is one of the sinews of the soul." She says to no one but herself.

She begins to wash her hands in the sink, and watches as the water turns a vibrant red. It almost looks like the color of fire, River thinks to herself. She turns the faucet off now and begins to dry her hands on the towel hanging nearby.

_**What does it mean to you?  
For me it's something I just do.  
I want something.  
I need to feel the sickness in you.**_

She walks out into the bedroom once again and goes to the open window to depart. But as she is about to jump out of the window she turns and looks at her work and remembers what she read when she was little, "A guilty conscience needs to confess. A work of art is a confession." The room is now bathed in bright scarlet; it is splattered against everything, the walls, the ceiling, the carpet, the bed. All that is heard is the sound of River's laughter as she jumps out the window.

…Reality Shifts Again…

* * *

Riddick's POV

I just finished telling Monty what happened on the hell-hole of a planet we just left, well maybe leaving out a few choice details about River's 'skills.' Can't have him think I have lost my touch now, he'd never let me live it down.

"Well shit, Riddick, sounds like you went through hell and back."

"You have no idea ol' man."

"Well let's get you folks to some rooms then, sounds like ya'll need a good night's rest." Monty says as he stands up from the table. "Someone wanna wake the little one up?"

"Riddick better do that, she's a might unpredictable." Book says as he stands up.

"She gonna need her own room?" Monty asks with a questioning look.

"No, she can crash with me," I say. This earns a look from Monty but he knows better than to question me right now and the others just roll their eyes.

"Take the first room on the left after you wake her up, I'll show everyone else to their rooms, and I'll be on the bridge after that" he says as he begins to walk out the door to the passenger dorms.

I stand there for a minute after the others walk out and look over at River. She has fallen asleep at t table with her arms crossed under her chin, and while her face is as calm as can be, I can tell the muscles of her body are tensed and ready for a fight, the girl was trained well. I move closer and move to brush a piece of hair that has fallen in front of her face.

* * *

River's POV

While the last fingers of sleep still cling to her mind, she feels something brush against her cheek. "The only time I have problems is when I sleep." The girl says as she becomes fully awake.

"Nightmares?" The Riddick asks.

"Memories." The girl says with a slight shudder.

"Come on, we need to talk and we can't do it here." The Riddick says as he moves toward the room Monty gave him.

The girl rises to her feet, and slowly trails after Riddick, softly speaking to herself. "Won't stop. Won't ever stop. They'll just keep coming..."

As she reaches the threshold of the passenger quarters she pauses. "Hermes will be needed for this conversation."

"Is he really necessary?" Riddick says as he arches a brow. She can feel the irritation dripping off him, the first time he truly gets her alone without having to worry about those 'things' eating them or getting rescued and he doesn't want to have the holy man around for it.

"Affirmative. Repetition is irksome." She crosses her arms at this to show it is not up for negotiation.

"Fine." Riddick bites out as he stomps down the corridor.

"Fourth door on the right." She calls out after him as she enters _their_ room.

* * *

Author's Note: Hope you guy's enjoyed this =) I promise to try and finish my thesis asap so I can spend more time on this.


	13. Chapter 12 Part 2 Disturbia

Okay so this update got done a lot sooner than I anticipated =) So I hope you all enjoy it. Also, if anyone has song requests/suggestions feel free to send them my way, I am always on the look out for new music to include in this story. Thanks go out to mommy2onebb, Elliesmeow, Ceruleankitten, and ArtLightLove for the reviews, they are much appreciated. Special thanks go out to my amazing beta, divine_one, she really is the best.

* * *

Riddick's POV

Girl's a gorram tease, nothing but a skinny little thorn in my side who just wants to irritate me. I open the door she said the shepherd would be in without knocking. "Girl says we need to talk." I say to him. He's sitting on the floor praying, and I mentally roll my eyes at him.

"I will be there in a moment then." Book says as he continues praying.

With that I turn and walk back to the room the girl is in. She's seated on the bed with her legs crossed, eyes closed, and breathing deep. "He's coming." I say to her, and she acknowledges me with a head nod.

She tilts her head to the side a bit as if focusing on something. "What exactly are you doing?" I ask her.

"Scanning. There are six crew members on the vessel, the girl would like to know if they are unscrupulous."

"And?"

"Negative. While they may appear to be hooligans, Monty has established a crew that is loyal and do not wish to incur his wrath by being dishonorable."

"Good to know. That mean you and I can have a 'dance' later?"

The edges of her lips curve into a small smirk at this, but she still remains in her meditating position. "Maybe."

"That's not the answer I'm looking for River." I say with irritation.

"Anticipation makes the pleasure stronger." She replies and that just makes me want to lock the door and claim her then and there. She giggles a little then replies to my line of thinking. "You could try but the girl can think of twenty three ways to incapacitate you before you make a move towards her."

I am about to make a move to lock the door but the shepherd makes his entrance at that moment, and I cannot help but curse him in my head. River just giggles again.

"Good, now we may begin." River says as she opens her eyes and smiles.

* * *

River's POV

"Let me begin by stating that if either one of you makes a move from your positions while the girl is telling this story there will be severe consequences, dong-ma?"

"Don't like where this is going already girl." Riddick grumbles from his corner in the room.

"Too bad, if you want a bedtime story you have to listen." I say with a coy smile on my face. I know this just irritates Riddick more.

"Fine," he says through gritted teeth. "Let's get this over with."

"Please begin, River, we will do as you ask." Book says with a slight nod to her.

"We have all been shaped by the hands of blue, Blue Sun Corporation, which is the Alliance. These are the ones that take you. They're the ones reaching and doing. They're the ones...everywhere, and the hands go everywhere... and nobody says anything... And then they come... I was forcibly molded to be a weapon…you two elected to become what they wished, well, at least in the beginning you did. But things changed before the Alliance could finish with us, we changed our fates, and as such incurred the wrath of the Alliance." Both men exchange glances at this, and the girl can feel the pin pricks of curiosity from their minds.

"You're ex-military then?" Riddick asks Book.

"In a manner of speaking," He replies.

"Which means what?" Riddick asks. He doesn't like Book's evasive behavior.

"Some would have considered me military."

"You're starting to sound a lot like the girl with the riddles shepherd."

"I am not obligated to tell you Riddick." Book says challenging Riddick's taunt.

"Operative." The girl says. She knows she will need to speed this along to avoid the two men throwing punches. Book narrows his eyes at the girl, but does not say anything about her revealing part of his past.

"Well that explains a few things." Riddick says. I can feel Riddick's irritation spike and sends him a warning glance. He clenches his jaw but does not move.

"Do not be so quick to judge Orpheus, you also enlisted with the Alliance." I say with a pointed glance.

"Yeah but it's not like I really had much of a choice."

"Half-truth, people always have a choice." I say challenging him. "You exercised that choice when you tried to do the right thing, and the Alliance branded you a monster."

"Lot of good it did." Riddick grumbles.

"Negative. Nothing happens by chance... No such thing as luck. A meaning behind every little thing; and such a meaning behind this. Part for you, part for me, we may not see it clear right now, but we will, before long."

"You're talkin' in riddles again girly."

"I think she means that our past is important." Book offers pensively.

"Correct Hermes." The girl smiles brightly at Book for understanding her words.

Riddick just rolls his eyes. "We're going to have to work on your communication skills." This earns him a look that roughly translates to 'you're a boob.' "So you said that he was going to help us with our little game, care to explain that?"

"And what game is this?" Book asks with a questioning look. Both Riddick and the girl say nothing to answer his question but cannot help but smile. "Never mind I don't want to know." Book says in mock defeat.

"We require information that Hermes would have been privy to as an Operative agent for the Alliance," she says.

"I haven't been an Operative in twenty years though."

"Irrelevant. Information that we would require deals more with operational tactics of certain people and locations of where Persephone and Orpheus can acquire necessary…supplies."

"Should I be prepping a sermon about now?"

"Negative. The people we are concerned with deserve the punishment they receive."

"Well that just makes me feel so much better." Book says somewhat incredulously.

"Consider it…payment for services rendered."

"And what services have you provided?"

"Keeping your ass alive on that piece of shit we just left? Course we could just kill you now if you prefer?" Riddick supplies as he leans towards Book.

Moving slightly further away from Riddick, Book holds his hands up in a defensive manner. "Point taken." He says.

"Well it seems as if we have an understanding then." Riddick says with a smug smile on his face.

"And with that I think I am going to take my leave before I agree to any other madness." Book says as he moves towards the door.

River giggles at this. "No great genius has ever existed without some touch of madness."

Book just shakes his head, but the girl can see a hint of a smile before it slips from his face. She can also feel more bricks from his mental wall fall to the ground and smiles.

After Book has left and closed the door, the girl's attention is back to Riddick.

"Now where were we?" He says as he moves toward her, like a jungle cat stalking its prey.

She allows him to get closer, lets him think she will make it easy. "You were about to attempt to seduce the girl."

"Attempt?"

"Have to catch me first," River says with a twinkle in her eye as she bolts up punches Riddick square in the solar plexus and runs out the door that Book had just left through.

Gasping for breath, Riddick doesn't know whether to be angry she hit him again or turned on. "I might have to tie her to the damn bed," Riddick says to himself as a dark smile wings across his face.

* * *

Riddick's POV

I exit not more than a breath behind River, but there is no sight of her. Damn that girl is quick.

I walk back into the mess hall, still no sign of her. Two of Monty's crew are sitting around playing cards. They look up at me as I enter, but quickly go back to their game. I walk back toward the cargo bay to see if the girl ran there, for our 'dance', but there is no sign of her there either.

GODDAMN LITTLE TEASE. My anger and frustration is growing with every area I look through. I end up back in the mess hall, after I looked through the infirmary, the passenger dorms, and the crew area. "You guys see a girl come through here?" I ask them. "No, just you man." One says without looking up from his game.

I begin to stomp towards the bridge. Hell, if the girl doesn't want to be found, I ain't gonna look. Might as well go see what Monty has to say.

* * *

River's POV

The girl holds in hysterical laughter as she watches Riddick stomp away in frustration through the metal grating of the ventilation shaft. Orpheus really needs to learn to let his frustration go with regards to the girl. Oh well, all in due time. The girl yawns as her exhaustion begins to set in, and she lays her head down and begins to fall asleep.

* * *

Riddick's POV

I walk into the bridge and sit down in the co-pilot seat next to Monty. He's sitting back in the chair, legs kicked up on the console, cigar in his mouth. "So what did you do this time to get thrown in?"

"The usual, crime, murder, some theft thrown in for fun."

"More purple bellies?" He asks with a look that reminds me of a kid with candy.

"Isn't it always?"

"You always did know how to have fun."

"So, what about you ol' man? Still reliving the glory days on this heap?"

"Hey don't you talk about my ship that way! She's a fine and proper ship; especially for activities the law might…frown upon." He says with a twinkle in his eye.

"Why I am I not surprised. Speaking of, what planet you planning on setting down on for the drop?" I ask.

"Aww, you not planning on stickin around long then? Crew could always use another scary face. Could be just like old time."

"Sorry ol' man, the lil' bit and I have some business that needs attending to."

"Your kind of business or normal people kind?"

"You really need to ask?"

"No, I don't. Well, we'll be on Persephone in a few days. You want us to drop you there?"

"Girl seems to think that's where we need to be."

"So you going to tell me about that lil' bit you have a thing with?"

"Nothing to tell." I mumble.

"My muscular buttocks." He says as he turns to face me. "Now my crew may not the brightest bunch around, but ol' Monty here is as sharp as a tack."

"You sure about that ol'man? Not looking as fit as you used to, you might be going soft in the brainpan."

"Hey you watch your mouth, I can still wipe the floor with you." He says as he with a chuckle. There's a pause between us, each of us just looking at the stars.

"She's…interesting." I say.

"Define interesting." Monty probes. He knows he can push it a bit with me, I blame it on the 'I'm your commander' mentality he will always have with me.

"She frustrates me. Likes to push my buttons, and a gorram tease." Monty begins to chuckle at this. "She's my kind of woman, not much else to explain."

"So she's the 'I can hand your ass to you on a platter while using my feminine wiles to frustrate you' type. Which just makes you all the more intrigued to take her for a 'ride,' huh?"

"That about sums it up."

"Well good luck with that one then, you're gonna need it. Sex is the thing that takes up the least amount of time and causes the most amount of trouble."

I cannot help but smirk and shake my head at this. "Well, you know I wouldn't recommend sex, drugs or insanity for everyone, but they've always worked for me."

"Not for me. I remember the first time I had sex - I kept the receipt."

"Speaking f sex, that lil' bit come through here earlier?"

"No, why?"

"Girl hit me and slipped away first chance she got."

Monty can't help but bust up laughing at this.

"Yeah yeah laugh it up."

"Girl's gonna give you a run for your money." Monty says through laughs, gasping for breath.

"Anyways," I say with mild irritation "Girl can stay hid for all I care right now." I can feel a plan for my revenge on her forming in my mind and just hope she isn't anywhere near to pick up on my thoughts.

"Uh huh. Sure you do." He says as he goes back to smoking his cigar. "Just try not to get blood everywhere will ya?"

* * *

River's POV

The girl wakes to the faint sounds of music in her head and knows Orpheus is close; can feel smug satisfaction rolling off him. He thinks he has the perfect plan hidden behind his walls of static, but he should know everything eventually falls down. Oh well, it makes their game more fun.

She slowly crawls out of the ventilation shaft she had been sleeping in and makes her way to the mess hall, where she knows he is, hiding in the darkness, waiting for her to make a move. She slept through dinner, and he is right to assume she would go for sustenance first.

As she makes her way to the cabinets that hold the protein packets she feels the knife press into her neck, but doesn't tense, she knows better. The crew has long gone to sleep and he finally has her alone.

"So you want to explain to me why you felt it necessary to disappear for a few hours? And why it was necessary to hit me again?" He purrs into her ear.

"I could tell you, but it would take the fun away," she says with a girlish laugh. He just presses the knife a little harder and she cannot help but press her body flush against him. The cold steel is a comfort on her skin from the heat that she feels beginning to burn within her.

"Well I think you best be explaining yourself right about now, dong-ma?"

She huffs in minor annoyance. "Fine, the girl needed sleep, and you would not have let her sleep in peace. And the harm done was necessary to slow down the Riddick so that the girl could climb into the ventilation shaft."

"Interesting." He says as he removes the knife but does not move away from her. The girl just goes back to prepping food for herself. After a moment she feels his arms begin to snake around her waist and to the front of her body and she stops. She begins to hear music pulsing in her head, but this time it's not Riddick's, it's hers.

…_**(Whats wrong with me?)  
Bum bum be-dum bum bum be-dum bum  
(Why do I feel like this?)  
Bum bum be-dum bum bum be-dum bum  
(I'm goin' crazy now)…**_

His walls are still up so she cannot tell what exactly he is planning, but knows that she has to try and not give him a reaction. But it's rather difficult the way he is rubbing her hips with his thumbs, causing her to close her eyes and focus on breathing.

…_**Feels like I'm going insane, yeah  
It's a thief in the night to come and grab you  
It can creep up inside you and consume you…**_

He's sliding his thumb along the edge of her leggings now, allowing it to dip ever so slightly into the waistband. She feels like his touch is slicing into her skin with every brush of his finger tips along her skin.

…_**It's like the darkness is the light…**_

She moves her hands away from the food she had been prepping and grips the edge of the counter in front of her, silently willing her breathes to come out evenly.

_**...Am I scarin' you tonight…**_

He's inching her leggings lower on her hips now, just enough to allow him to move one hand between the waistband. He's brushing against the cotton of her panties now, the last thing separating his hand from her flesh. And as he dips lower, she cannot help but push further back into him.

…_**I gotta get out, oh  
Figure this shit out  
It's too close for comfort…**_

The girl sighs as he presses his fingers into her further. She knows he is retaliating for her earlier behavior. He wants to drive her insane, and damn him, she likes it. "The sexual embrace can only be compared with music and with prayer." She says in a whisper as she can't make her voice work normally at that moment.

…_**A disease of the mind it can control you (uh huh)  
I feel like a monster, oh woah!**_

She attempts to turn around at this point, but he uses his un-occupied hand to hold her against him and closer to the counter in front of her, effectively pinning her to the spot. She curses him in her head, as soft mews escape her lips. She can feel his fingers beginning to speed up, creating a delectable tension in her, and she wishes he would let her move, she's so deliciously close.

…_**Release me from this curse I'm in  
Tryin' to maintain but I'm struggling  
If you can go-o-o-o-o-o  
Think I'm gonna ah ah ah ah aah **_

But that's when she feels him move away from her, and she opens her eyes wide in shock. The bastard was being a TEASE! GORRAM HUNDAN was STEALING her MOVES! This is highly unacceptable! Only _she_ is allowed to be the gorram tease.

"Turn about is fair play, darlin," he says as he walks across the mess towards the passenger dorms; chuckling as he does.

Her eyes narrow into slits, and throws the protein pack she had been preparing at the space he once occupied in the doorway. The girl is left fuming, and wants to kill him in that instant. Oh the game is very much on now.

* * *

Author's Note: Figured it was time for Riddick to get a little 'revenge' on River. ;) Wouldn't be the psychotic killer we all love if he didn't.


	14. Chapter 13 His Type

To all my devoted readers, I have good news and bad news. The good news is I finished my thesis =) the bad news is that LSAT prep class has now started =( Overall I should be able to post more now. Thanks White-Dragon-of-Hope, ArtLightLove, and CeruleanKitten for the great reviews, and special thanks to my beta divine_one. As always I own nothing, please don't sue me.

* * *

River didn't go back to _their _room that night. She had no desire to wake the beast lying dormant within him right now…at least not until retribution had been devised.

* * *

River's POV

Several hours later, the girl was still…_exploring…_so to speak. She was quite amused by the number of hiding places she had discovered while roaming the ship. As she walks back towards the passenger dorms she begins to hear music from _his_ mind, it was a rollicking crescendo.

"He's dreaming of so called glory days," she says with amusement. She smiles a feral grin as she begins to formulate her tactical approach. "Let him have his dreams… he can have his nightmare tomorrow." She says to no one but herself.

She slinks along the halls of the ship, tracing her fingers along the metal walls, following the whispers of dreams, thoughts, and memories of those on board. Sunny days, fights, women, blood, money…it is everything and nothing all at once.

She lets her feet guide her to the bridge, and sits in the co-pilot's seat. The faint hum of the engines and the soft glow of the console lights almost mesmerizing to the girl's senses, the only thing more captivating are the stars in the vast blackness outside.

"Twinkle, twinkle, little bat…how I wonder where you're at…Up above the world so high…like a tea cup in the sky…"

As the girl sits and tries to count the stars, she feels the gentle caress of sleep on the back of her mind.

* * *

…Reality Shifts…

She's locked in shackles in a room she doesn't recognize. She doesn't remember this, for once she has no clue where she is. This isn't like one of her 'usual' dreams. This isn't some repressed memory, some subconscious psychosis, it feels...different. It makes her skin tingle, goose bumps rising on her skin.

She sits up and takes in her surroundings. It's a small dark room, with lockers to her left and what appears to be a shelf of preserves in front of her. As she is studying the room, she hears a gun's safety click off.

…Reality Shifts…

Its deathly quiet, she walks down a corridor until she reaches a door. She walks through it and sees a set of stairs and begins walking down them. She reaches the bottom and walks to the center of the room.

She takes in the scene around her. It appears she's in some kind of pub or other such drinking establishment. There are tables and chairs thrown about, some still standing, some tipped over, some covered in broken bottles and glass, and the floor is the same.

The stench of spilt alcohol, gun powder, and blood fills her nostrils. That's when the vid-screen flickers to life, and she looks up at it, and her eyes go wide with horror.

…Reality Shifts Again…

* * *

River's POV

She wakes to the smell of cigar smoke and stale cologne heavy in the air.

"Ah, sleeping beauty awakes." Monty says as he sees the girl sit up and right herself in the chair.

"What hour is it?" The girl asks the large man.

"It's still early; others probably won't be up for another hour or so." He says as he blows out a lungful of smoke.

"The girl apologizes for falling asleep in the bridge."

"Ah, no need darlin, no harm done, that and I heard you're a might unpredictable, figured it was best to let you sleep."

They sit in quiet silence for all of a minute.

"So the big guy tells me two ain't planning on sticking around long." Monty says.

"Affirmative. There are things that must be attended to, people to kill, and places to see. You know how it is." She says batting her lashes and trying to look as sweet as possible.

"Well ain't that just a lil' morbid and creepifying." Monty says with a look of slight trepidation.

The girl opens her mind to allow Monty's thoughts in. _Girl really is unpredictable like Riddick says._ She just chuckles at this.

"What's funny?" Monty asks.

"Nothing," the girl says while again smiling sweetly. Monty just turns his attention back to the console, somewhat confused by 'the strange girl's behavior.'

After another few minutes, the girl breaks the silence. "Monty, the girl is in need of certain information. Information that she believes you can provide."

"Okay…What information would this be?" He asks hesitantly.

"When the girl and the Riddick depart on Persephone, we will need to acquire certain supplies. As such, the girl requires an establishment to procure funds to pay for said supplies. Would you happen to know of such a place?"

Monty takes a moment to process what the girl has asked. "You askin' me where you can weapon up and hustle people out of their credits?"

"Affirmative." She says with a smile. _Oh yeah, definitely Riddick's type._

"Do I even want to ask what you're looking for?"

"The usual," She says grinning wider. "Although the girl would also like to procure some more…exotic…types as well."

"You may be just as unsettling as Riddick."

She smirks.

"You want to speak to Mr. Wu. He runs a trade supply store in the Eavesdown Docks, he should have what you're lookin' for, and as for the credits…you any good at pool or cards."

"The girl is…familiar with both." She says confidently.

"Try the Gem Saloon, fella by the name of Swearengen runs the place, but it might be better to avoid him, bit of a hard ass that one."

"Interesting. Thank you for your help Monty."

* * *

Riddick's POV

I wake to the sound of Monty banging on the door, "Food's ready Riddick!"

I roll over and sit up, letting the effects of deep sleep wear off. My senses start to pick up on everything around me, or rather the _lack _of certain things. The girl's scent is nowhere in the room, meaning she never came in here after our little…_talk_.

I stand up and pull my shirt over my head and grab my goggles from the bed side table. I think it's time to go see where her skinny little ass went last night.

As I exit the room, I can hear voices coming from the mess hall, and walk towards it. Monty, his crew, Shazza, Book, Paris, and River are all seated at the table having breakfast, or at least they would be if they weren't all in hysterical laughter. I pause in the doorway before any of them have seen me.

"No, no, no. That is not true." Shazza says as she clutches her stomach from laughing so hard.

"I swear it is!" Monty says.

"Somehow I have trouble picturing that." Book says recovering slightly.

"On my mother's grave its true!"

"What's so amusing?" I ask as I make my presence known.

That's when everyone turns and looks at me, and there is a moment of silence before another eruption of laughter.

"Monty here was just telling us about one of his more 'colorful' stories from the war." Book says.

"Which one?"

"The one where we got that private smashed and had him dancing around base in that dress we found."

I chuckle at the memory of this and walk up and take the empty seat next to River, but just as I sit she gets up and takes her plate to the sink. "Please, excuse the girl." She says as she practically runs out of the room.

"What's that all about?" Paris asks nonchalantly.

"My money's on Riddick's pissed her off, found her sleeping in on the bridge this morning." Monty says. Hmm, so that's where she was all night.

"Interesting." Book remarks while eyeing me more closely.

"Hey, I just gave the girl a taste of her own medicine. Not my fault she can't take it."

"I don't even want to know what you mean by that." Shazza says.

"She'll get over it." I say as I grab a plate to get some food.

* * *

River's POV

It takes him a few hours but eventually, he begins to seek the girl out. She can feel him moving about the ship. She can hear the music become louder as he draws closer. The girl is surprised that it takes him 3.25 minutes to find her; she would have thought he could do it in under 2. When he does arrive at the girl's location, she is meditating in the cargo bay.

"You and I need to have a _talk._" He says as he looms over the girl's seated form. His mind is static at the moment, and the girl feels no need to acknowledge his presence.

"Are you just going to sit there then?" He asks. Still the girl makes no indication of acknowledgment.

"Fine then." He says as he stomps off back toward the passenger dorms. The static is beginning to face into music and the girl smiles as she picks up a few cacophonous notes. It's time for part 2 of her plan then, and she gets up and moves into a new spot.

A few more minutes go by before everyone in the ship hears it, a roar of anger that could wake the dead.

"RIVER!" he bellows, and the girl's lips curve into a sly smile.

She can feel his anger coming towards her like a tidal wave now, along with the crew, Paris, Shazza, Book, and Monty as well.

"You gorram INSANE little girl! I am going to kick your ass for this!" He screams at her as he enters the cargo bay.

By this point everyone is coming through one of the doors leading into the cargo bay to see what is going on. When they get there, they are greeted with the sight of a very pissed off Riddick covered head to toe in engine grease and flour, and all at once laughter erupts in the bay. What makes it even more amusing is that River has perched herself on some pipes above the cargo bay floor and it is just out of Riddick's reach.

"You insane little monkey GET DOWN HERE so I can kick your ass!" he yells at her.

"I haven't gone completely insane…but it might happen soon." The girl says as she dangles from her knees and taunts Riddick.

"THIS IS NOT FUNNY RIVER!" He bellows again.

"Au contraire, the girl finds it hysterical." She says between giggles.

"Oh come on Riddick, you got to give the girl credit, she got you pretty good." Monty says while gasping for air. This earns him a death glare from Riddick.

"_Ni tama de tianxia suoyou de ren duo gaisi_!"

In between fits of laughter Shazza tries to talk sense to Riddick. "Yelling at her will not make her want to come down."

At this point, Riddick is done yelling and but is radiating more anger than before. His mind is full of crashing cymbals and drums. "You little _shǎbī__, _get down here now!"

That has gotten the girls attention and suddenly the entire cargo bay has gone silent as they see the girl go from giggling to glaring daggers at Riddick. "What did you just call me?"

"I said you little _shǎbī_!"

And with that the girl somersaults off the piping and lands in front of Riddick. The girl imagines that they look like two jungle cats about to fight to everyone else. "One hour, go clean the _gao se _off and then you and the girl will _dance_."

"Shiny!" Riddick says and walks out of the cargo bay.

* * *

"What exactly does she mean by dance?" Monty says.

"Your infirmary stocked?" Book asks.

"Yeah, why?" Monty says puzzled.

"Because I have a feeling that their little 'dance' is going to break a few things before they are done." And with that he walks toward River to try and talk her into reconsidering.

Monty just cracks a smile and laughs. "Oh yeah, she's _definitely_ his type."

* * *

River's POV

As Riddick goes to clean himself off, the girl retreats to the bridge to find what she is looking for on the cortex. She can feel the winged footsteps of Hermes approaching as she searches.

"No use, girl will not change her mind." She says without looking up.

"Are you sure? The man is a trained killer River. And while you may be trained as well, he could easily overpower you."

Through a veil of hair the girl turns and looks at the shepherd and he cannot help but take a step back. She imagines that this is the moment he fully understands what she truly is, and what she can do.

"Nothing in the verse' can stop me if I want it," is all she says.

* * *

Riddick's POV

When he enters the cargo bay an hour later everyone is there, waiting to see who is going to win.

Monty approaches him before he gets to the where an area has been cleared. "So since this is my ship, we're gonna follow my rules for this little 'dance' as you two call it, dong-ma?"

I don't say anything and Monty takes this as a sign to continue.

"Rule 1: No killing each other. I don't want to have to deal with getting rid of a body." I scoff at this, like that little girl could really kill me.

"Rule 2: No knives. Girl already objected to this but I don't care, no knives."

"Rule 3: First to make the other tap out wins, dong-ma?"

"Whatever," I say as I walk to where River stands with Book. "You ready crazy?"

"Are you?" She challenges. Oh yeah, I am ready to hand her ass to her.

"Monty if you please?" She says to the ol' man.

"What, cheating already girl?"

"Negative, the girl wishes to dance to music that everyone can hear. Music is what feelings sound like, and the girl wants everyone to be perfectly clear on who is going to win."

"Don't say things you're going to regret later crazy."

"Oh, _**I**_ won't."

* * *

River's POV

Book has moved back to act as a 'medic' so to speak while most of the crew, Paris, and Shazza have moved to the catwalks over the cargo bay to avoid the 'two dueling psychotics' as Paris put it. Monty is on the other side, ready to pull the two apart if need be.

Unlike the last time they danced, this time Orpheus will be able to hear exactly what she does, and he will hear what he makes her feel. When the first few notes come on over the speakers, the girl can feel the electricity ghost across her body. She visible shivers as she feels the hairs on her arms stand on end from anticipation.

"You going to make a move or am I going to have to drag you around." Riddick taunts.

"The girl has no intention of letting you have all the fun." She says with a smile and then she lunges at him with a left hook and becomes a flurry of limbs.

_**I am a little bit of loneliness, a little bit of disregard**__**  
**__**Handful of complaints but I can't help the fact**__**  
**__**That everybody can see these scars**_

He countered her every move, never truly allowing her to get close enough to land a solid hit. Like last time, he was taunting her. But this time, she had no intention of allowing him the satisfaction of seeing her on the ground.

_**I am what I want you to want, what I want you to feel**__**  
**__**But it's like no matter what I do, I can't convince you**__**  
**__**To just believe this is real**_

As he moved back again from deflecting another punch, she changed the game and began to flip towards him, her feet catching him square in the chest and knocking him down.

"Comfortable down there?" She asks with a smile.

He gets up growling and stalks towards her, "why don't you tell me when you are looking up at me."

_**So I, let go watching you turn your back like you always do**__**  
**__**Face away and pretend that I'm not**__**  
**__**But I'll be here cause you're all that I've got**_

Now, instead of Riddick simply deflecting her blows, he began advancing with his own offensive attacks. While she had the grace of a dancer, he had the agility and speed of a boxer. He caught her side with a hook from his left. She stumbled for a moment before righting herself and glaring at Riddick.

_**I can't feel the way I did before**__**  
**__**Don't turn your back on me**__**  
**__**I won't be ignored**__**  
**__**Time won't heal this damage anymore**__**  
**__**Don't turn your back on me I won't be ignored**_

In a move that surprised everyone in the cargo bay, River ran full speed at Riddick, but changed her path just out of arms reach from him and jumped half way up the support post he was standing near and then jumped off and planted a kick to Riddick's head. He stumbled back a bit, visibly dazed, as River advanced again.

"Come on Riddick! I got 50 credits on you!" Monty yells.

"Working on it Monty!" he says gruffly, keeping his attention on River.

_**I am, a little bit insecure, a little unconfident**__**  
**__**Cuz you don't understand I do what I can**__**  
**__**Sometimes I don't make sense**_

River could feel the anger radiating off of Riddick's skin with every punch or kick she landed, and she knew that he felt the same from her. But unlike last time, there was no tension building; they were already in the flames.

_**I am, what you never wanna say, but I've never had a doubt**__**  
**__**It's like no matter what I do I can't convince you for once just to hear me out**_

As River made another daring leaping attack towards Riddick, he caught her mid air and then proceeded to throw her into a wooden crate nearby. It collapsed under the force with which he threw her, and the cargo bay was filled with the sounds of snapping wood._**  
**__**  
So I, let go watching you turn your back like you always do**__**  
**__**You face away and pretend that I'm not**__**  
**__**But I'll be here cause you're all that I've got**_

"You had enough crazy?" He taunts as she takes a moment to stand.

"Negative, I'm just getting started." And with that she picks up a piece of the broken wood to use as a weapon against Riddick.

Seeing this Monty yells at her. "Hey! No fighting with that! It's against my rules!"

"Negative, Monty stipulated no knives! And rules are meant to be broken!"

_**I can't feel the way I did before**__**  
**__**Don't turn your back on me**__**  
**__**I won't be ignored**__**  
**__**Time won't heal this damage anymore**__**  
**__**Don't turn your back on me I won't be ignored**_

Riddick watched with mild amusement, as the girl advanced at him with her new 'weapon.' _Hell, if she gets to use a weapon, so do I._ As he made a move to try and get his own piece of wood to use, the girl swiped at his feet with her staff and knocked him to the floor. But as she moves to hit his stomach with it, he grabs it and pulls her off balance, sending her crashing to the floor on top of him.

* * *

Riddick's POV

I instinctively flip her over underneath me, but before I can completely adjust my weight she has her legs wrap around my throat and is beginning to squeeze. I counter her move by bringing my hands to her throat.

_**Hear me out now**__**  
**__**You're gonna listen to me like it or not**__**  
**__**Right now, hear me out now**__**  
**__**You're gonna listen to me like it or not**__**  
**__**Right now**_

Everything else around us seems to lose focus as we are locked in this stalemate. I am vaguely aware of the music and the voices in the background yelling, but we both just stare into each other's eyes. And I don't think I have ever seen something as gorram beautiful as the fire in _her_ eyes.

_**I can't feel the way I did before**__**  
**__**Don't turn your back on me**__**  
**__**I won't be ignored**_

* * *

Author's Note: Hope you all enjoyed this little 'dance' lol, it was very fun to write.


	15. Chapter 14 Dance Practice

10/25/10 - Author's Note: After re-reading this chapter I decided that a lot of it needed to go and that I would be taking the story in a different direction. I promise to update with more later.

XXX

They all just watch as the two killers battle it out. It was oddly startling and beautiful at the same time.

They didn't really start to get worried until Riddick and River ended up tangled around one another on the floor.

"Are they gonna stop?" Monty directs his question to Book.

"Oh, _gou shu_, I don't think so…Riddick!...River!" But his calls fall on deaf ears.

XXX

River's POV

She grits her teeth as he squeezes her esophagus tighter.

He elicits a strained warning. "Forfeit…the…game."

This just pisses her off, how _dare_ he tell her to quit. Her eyes narrow and she releases her hands from where they had been trying to pry his grasp off her neck, and she begins to feel around to the side of her. She can just feel the wood to her left with her fingertips.

She chuckles as much as possible with his hands wrapped around her throat. "Negative…You _love_…the way I look…at _you_, while taking _pleasure…_in the awful things…you put me through." She wraps her fingers around the wood while arching her pelvis up into his body to tease him.

He grins and that's when she bashes him on the head with the wood she had just been able to grab. While it doesn't knock him out, it does daze him and the girl is able to use her legs to push him off of her to the right. She disentangles her limbs from around him and collapses to the floor next to him, panting for breath.

XXX

Riddick's POV

My head throbs from where she bashed the fucking wood against my skull, but through the dull ache I can feel her lying next to me, sweaty, panting for breath. The smell of lavender, cloves, and salt, the smell of _her,_ fills my nostrils and clouds my head even more.

"To say that we…are mired in…stalemate…seems the only…realistic…yet, highly unsatisfactory… conclusion." She says.

"Are you…giving in then?" I say as I turn to look at her. Her chest rises and falls taking in huge breaths and a smile forms on her face.

"Negative…this was…just round one."

"…Shiny…"

XXX

River's POV

There had been some shouting and arguing between who the 'winner' was of their little show. Monty was none too pleased to hand over fifty credits to Paris, due to River 'technically' having the last solid blow in the duel. He begrudgingly handed the money over to the little man.

Monty had yelled at the crew that the show was over, and everyone went back about their business. Book had insisted on checking on some of the girl's more serious looking bruises in the infirmary. She had rolled her eyes, giving what was fast becoming her 'you're a boob' look, but had relented and followed the man to quite him.

"There is no need for a lecture Hermes," she says as crosses the threshold. She winces at the memories the cold metal table in the center of the room elicits.

"And who says I am going to give you a lecture?" He says as he begins searching through drawers for bandages for her bruised knuckles.

"Please, your mind screams it."

"I am just…"

"Meddlesome?" She moves to sit on the counter instead of the table.

Book takes one of her hands and begins to wrap it. "Concerned, you two are rather…combustible around one another, and he is what, twice your age?"

"Negative, Orpheus is 11.4 years older than the Queen."

"Still, wouldn't it be better if…"

"Negative. Two by two. Everyone has a match, a mate, a doppler."

"And I shouldn't be concerned by this? I mean look at what your little 'dance' did." He says as he finishes wrapping her hands and raises an eyebrow at her.

As she stares at the table in front of her she answers him in a soft whisper. "No, maybe we have to break things in order to make them better."

XXX

…Reality Shifts…

…_**There's something inside me**_[Soft Break]_**That**_ _**pulls beneath the surface**_[Soft Break]_**Consuming, confusing**_[Soft Break]_**This lack of self control I fear**_…

Strapped to the metal table, stripped bare for all the prying eyes to see, she shuts her eyes and counts…

_**Discomfort, endlessly has pulled**_

…the heart beats 1001, 1002…

_**Itself upon me distracting, reacting**_

…the footsteps, 45, 46…

_**Against my will I stand beside my own reflection**_[Soft Break]_**It's haunting how I can't seem**_…[Soft Break][Soft Break]…the needles, 7,8, 9, 10…

…_**To find myself again**_[Soft Break]_**My walls are closing in**_[Soft Break]_**(Without a sense of confidence)**_

Their voices talk about what a vision she is, what extraordinary grace, their prize, their weapon.

_**(I'm convinced that there's)**_[Soft Break]_**(Just too much pressure to take)**_[Soft Break]_**I've felt this way before so insecure**_[Soft Break][Soft Break]She hears what the voices say only to her and...

_**Crawling in my skin**_[Soft Break]_**These**_ _**wounds they will not heal**_[Soft Break]_**Fear is how I fall**_[Soft Break]_**Confusing what is real**_

…she screams.

…Reality Shifts Again…

XXX

River's POV

She leaves the infirmary in somewhat of a daze after her flash. She can still feel where the needles pricked her skin, pierced her skull, and it makes her shutter. She sways slightly as she walks, unsure if it's from the dance or the memory. Either way she needs sleep; sweet blissful sleep.

She reaches their room and is surprised that he is not here waiting for her, but she is too tired to care. She strips off her sweaty clothes letting them hit the metal beneath her feet with soft thuds. It feels as if she is pulling off a thick layer of grim as the air hits her skin.

Fresh clothes will be necessary when they land on Persephone.

Once the offending garments have been stripped off she walks to the bed, eyes barely open and falls onto the mattress, pulling the coverlet up around her body. She takes a moment to inhale the remnants of Orpheus' scent, dark coffee and cardamom, with a hint of salt. She smiles and closes her eyes.

XXX

Riddick's POV

I let my head fall against the tile wall in front of me as the water hits my head and shoulders. While it's not the hottest shower, the tepid warmth is helping my muscles loosen and uncoil. But as I begin to think about why I feel like this, my muscles just begin to tense again. That girl, that gorram little slip of a girl, that deadly little thing.

The way her hair coils in waves like snakes, the way her eyes flash with emotion yet her faces gives nothing away. She can match every one of my steps, and isn't afraid of the monster that I am. Oh she'll be trouble. And a smile crosses my face.

After another minute or so I get out of the shower and pull my goggles and cargos back on, the shirt isn't worth it, it smells like a gorram piece of _gou shu_.

I walk back to the room hoping the girl is there. I open the door and slip in. Without even needing to look I know she's in here, the lavender consumes the room.

I take my goggles off and look into the darkness. She's there; curled up like kitten under the covers, face away from the door. Her hair falling in her face, tangled around her. The perfect skin of her back peeks out from underneath the blanket on top of her, while her arm lies across the bed stretching towards the other side.

Suddenly there is a giggle. "It's not polite to stare." She says.

"Didn't think you would mind."

"The Queen doesn't." She says as she rolls towards me, arms coming to stretch up over her head as her back arches and the blanket slips a little lower on her body.

"Careful lil one, you didn't like it when I teased you last night." I say as I stalk towards her, my muscles tightening again at the sight of her.

She smiles at this. "The best way to behave is to misbehave."

XXX

River's POV

As soon as the words left her lips, his hands came crashing down on either side of her, his weight covering her as it had earlier.

"You really should be careful what you say. Never know how I am going to take things."

"Your mind screams what you want to do though…Biting, clawing, blood, pain… sweet dreams are made of these, who am I to disagree?"

"You sure about that girly? I am not a good man, by any means. You sure you can take it?" He says as he grinds his hips into the girl. She can feel what she's doing, and she smiles.

She raises up on her arms and whispers in his ear. "When I'm good I'm very, very _good_, but when I'm bad, I'm_ better_."

That's the last thing she says before his lips come crashing down on hers and the music begins to fill her ears.

_**Sweet dreams are made of these**_[Soft Break]_**Who**_ _**am I to disagree?**_[Soft Break]_**Travel the world and the seven seas**_[Soft Break]_**Everybody's**_ _**looking for something**_

He's ripping the cover away from her body now, as his lips continue to devour hers. Her hands are coming to his back as the fire inside her builds. Once the blanket is out of the way the bare skin of his chest meets hers for the first time. The touch of his skin on hers feels like its burning her alive.

_**Some of them want to use you**_[Soft Break]_**Some**_ _**of them want to get used by you**_[Soft Break]_**Some of them want to abuse you**_[Soft Break]_**Some of them want to be abused**_

His hands are now grasping the slight curves of her body, making her body more inflamed. His hands are not gentle, not soft caresses, they are calloused, harsh, and will leave bruises in their wake. Her feral grin appears as he continues to overwhelm her mouth with his.

_**I wanna**_ _**use you and abuse you**_[Soft Break]_**I wanna**_ _**know what's inside you**_

Her hands move to the waistband of his cargo pants and begin tear at the fabric. She wants the last barrier removed and she wants it gone…now. She brings her legs up on either side of his and uses her feet to pull the pants down. As she does, she can feel him pull her body down to his hips. But instead of pulling her completely around him, he stops just before.

_**Sweet dreams are made of these**_[Soft Break]_**Who**_ _**am I to disagree?**_[Soft Break]_**Travel the world and the seven seas**_[Soft Break]_**Everybody's**_ _**looking for something**_

"I'm not the hero bao-bei, that's never going to be me, you sure?"

She groans at this and thrusts her hips downward hissing in a breath as he fills her. "When choosing between two evils, I always like to try the one I've never tried before."

_**Some of them want to use you**_[Soft Break]_**Some**_ _**of them want to get used by you**_[Soft Break]_**Some of them want to abuse you**_[Soft Break]_**Some of them want to be abused**_

That's all it took for him, there was no more hesitation. He's grabbing her hips with enough force to leave finger shaped bruises and rocking in and out of her. She cannot help but smile more and drags her nails down his back leaving bloody welts in their wake.

_**I'm gonna**_ _**use you and abuse you**_[Soft Break]_**I'm gonna**_ _**know what's inside**_[Soft Break]_**Gonna**_ _**use you and abuse you**_[Soft Break]_**I'm gonna**_ _**know what's inside you**_

XXX

Nobody sees them at meals the rest of the day. While they aren't loud, the growls and hisses people hear behind the door are enough to keep them away. When they do finally come out for a meal, River's hair really does look like a bunch of snakes, Riddick's got a black eye, and both of them have bruises and bite marks up and down their exposed skin.

"What the bloody hell happened to you too!" Paris says somewhat idiotically. Shazza elbows him in the ribs for being that stupid.

Both River and Riddick look at each other and shrug their shoulders and Riddick answers. "Dance practice."

Monty can't help but busting up laughing at this.

XXX


	16. Chapter 15 My body rocks the rhythm

AN: So this chapter is long over due and I am so sorry it took me so long to post it. As always I own nothing and constructive criticism is much appreciated.

XXX

The next few days passed in with relatively little changing. Everyone shared meals together, laughed at stories, and generally enjoyed each other's company. When they finally reached Persephone, it was almost as if the long ordeal several of them had went through was a distant memory.

River, Riddick, and Book stood on the gangplank saying their goodbyes to Monty, Paris, Shazza, and the rest of the crew. Monty had agreed to take Paris and Shazza on to New Mecca, and so Book, River, and Riddick would be parting company with them here.

"Remember that if you ever need something you can wave ol' Monty you hear?" Monty said as he embraced River in a tight hug.

"Affirmative, promise to keep in touch." She said with a warm smile.

"And if Riddick get to be too much of a hard-ass you let me know."

"Like she would really complain." Riddick says with a chuckle as he moves forward to shake his old friend's hand goodbye.

XXX

River's POV

After the trio had departed company from Monty they had quickly acquired a room at one of the more 'colorful' establishments near the Eavesdown docks. Once they had reached their room Riddick and Book quickly checked for hidden surveillance equipment. It was amusing to see the similarities in how the two men operated, but the girl had to chuckle at the fact they even needed to check for anything in this establishment. When the girl could see the two men were assured that there was no surveillance bugs she they began to discuss the plans for the next 36 hours.

"First order of business is procurement of necessary funds. Monty suggested the Gem Saloon as a possible place for said procurement." The girl says as she flops down onto one of the beds.

"You have something in mind already?" Book says as he takes a seat on the other bed.

"I do," and I offer him a smile. "The girl can count cards and plans to clean out the poker table."

"And how are you planning to get the seed money?" Riddick asks.

"You really should pay more attention Orpheus; you might learn a thing or two." She says as she holds up two pouches that jingle with the sounds of credits and platinum.

He can't help but smile, "Why you little thief." The girl just smiles back coyly.

"So what are Riddick and I going to be doing while you fleece the unsuspecting cardsharks at the table?" Book asks.

"They will provide tactical support should a barroom brawl break out." She says with a smile as she thinks about the delicious possibility of a fight.

XXX

Riddick's POV

A few hours later, I'm seated at the bar of the Gem as Book walks in. River had suggested we split up an hour or so ago so as to avoid anyone thinking they were pulling a con and I had taken up position before they had arrived so I could have a clear vantage point of the room.

Book walks over to the other end of the bar and orders a drink and then proceeds to move towards the poker tables. She wanted him to find a high stakes table so that she didn't have to spend as much time looking for the right table to mark.

I can see her enter the bar now in the mirror above the back counter. But this isn't the same girl that left me an hour ago, there's a noticeable difference, and it isn't just the change of clothes she has on. Her scent, the way she is carrying herself, everything about her has shifted. She's in her element and I cannot help but smile at the criminal mastermind masked as the unsuspecting girl that is River Tam.

She's got a long coat on. She had said that she needed to run an errand before making her grand entrance and I had shrugged it off at the time but part of me is curious to know what she's got underneath that coat.

XXX

River's POV

She can feel Riddick's interest spike as she gets closer to where he is located and cannot help but smile. She may have left a few more key elements of her plan out when she had told Riddick and Book her plans earlier, but it just made it all the much more fun for her.

She had pilfered another wallet after splitting up from them and proceeded to go to the nearest clothing store to create an ensemble for the night. She had chosen a long black coat to conceal the outfit underneath and could not wait to feel his reaction when he finally saw it on her. There were two possible reactions she could calculate and she smiled with glee at the possibility of either of them.

She is now standing just inside the doors of the Gem and takes a deep breath as she unties the belt of the coat and begins to slide it off. The minute the skin of her shoulders is uncovered she feels a wave of agitation from Riddick and grins as she walks further into the bar.

XXX

Riddick's POV

Gorramit all to hell that girl is trying to drive me crazy. I know what she's doing, and I don't like it, I don't like it at all. She probably thinks it's funny to tease me like this, knowing that I have to sit here and watch as she strips off her coat to reveal what she has underneath.

Not only is the dress...if one can call it that… extremely short, only hitting her mid thigh, but it barely covers any of her chest. The black material drapes around her long neck and down the front of her, down into an extremely low neckline.

But what really pisses me off is what I see when she walks towards the other end of the room. There isn't any material covering the milky white skin of her back.

She should not be doing that in a place like this. She should not be wearing _**that**_ in a place like this. Gorram tease is going to get in trouble dressed like that in here.

XXX

River's POV

It's show time.

I survey the room and see that Book has already found himself a seat at a card game and I walk up to the bar to order a drink before I put my plan in motion.

"What'll it be." The barman says as his eyes travel down the girl's front._ This one's new._

"Double shot of tequila please."

He eyes her a little in disbelief. "You sure about that sugar?" _Girl her size will be on the floor after one drink._

She smiles a little at his concern. "I can handle what I order."

He shrugs and turns to pour her the shots. As she waits for her drink she can hear another man begin to approach her.

"Hey there poppet, all by yourself tonight?" The man asks her .

She doesn't even turn to face him as she answers. "Not interested."

"Aww don't be like that poppet, ol' Badger is just trying to be sociable." He says but she just continues to ignore him.

"What's your name poppet?"

She rolls her eyes at his persistence and decides to have a bit of fun. "Don't seem likely I'd tell it to you now, do it? Anyone off Dyton Colony knows better than to talk to strangers. You're talking loud enough for the both of us though, ain'tcha?"

"Do I know you from the old town then?" He says slightly confused as to how she would know where he is from.

She looks him up and down before answering, literally sizing him up. "I've known a dozen like you. Skipped off home early, running graft jobs here and there. Spent some time in the lock down, but less than you claim. And you're what? Petty thief with delusions of standing? Sad, little king of a sad, little hill. ...Not really."

The man is utterly flabbergasted and doesn't know what to say. She smiles at this and pays for her drink. "Call me if anyone interesting shows up." And with that she walks away from the man who is now scratching his head in confusion. It's show time.

XXX

Riddick's POV

I can feel my blood begin to boil as the slimy little man approaches her. It amazes me that he even thinks he has a chance of chatting her up.

I can see she's getting irritated by his presence and I am just about to go over than and tell him to shove off when I see his face pale slightly and his eyes go wide and I stop myself.

Whatever it is she said to him has shocked, and it's gorram hilarious to see her do that and walk away. I'm still going to have to have a talk with her about that dress though. She wouldn't be having to deal with creeps like that at all if she had worn clothing.

XXX

River's POV

**My body rocks a rhythm  
You beat my drum hard  
I might just kick it kick it  
You wanna lick it lick it ….**

"Is this seat taken?" I say as I stand behind the empty seat at the table Hermes is seated at. The men at the table all glance up from their cards and some actually double take at my presence. I smile ever so slightly at them.

…_This one sure is cute…Great now I'll have something to look at…Interesting…_

"Not at all," one of them says to her as he motions for her to sit.

"Why thank you." She says as she sets her jacket and purse down next to her. "What are we playing gentleman?"

…**I like the way you smile  
I might just bite your lip  
I see you talking talking  
Your hands are talking talking…**

"Texas Hold-em, do you know how to play sugar?"

"I think so, that's the game where you get new cards after you bet right?" She says trying to play up the airhead cover.

…**I like that-  
I like your dirty mind  
mine's on it all the time  
oh let me shake it shake it  
I'll polaroid it shake it…**

…_Oh this should be fun…Like taking candy from a baby…_

"That's a different game sugar, here let us teach you how to play."

"Oh why what a gentleman you are." She says as she bats her eyelashes in the man's direction.

"What's your name darlin'?" A smaller man to her left says.

…**My body rocks the rhythm  
You beat my drum hard….**

She turns and smiles to him now. "Marie."

"Well Marie, I'm Harry, that one there is Jim, the older fella there is Derrial, and that ugly one there is Tommy."

"Hey! I ain't ugly!" Tommy says as he deals out the cards.

…**I like that-  
I love the money money  
I'm dripping dripping gold…**

She giggles a little at his and takes her cards after they are dealt. "It's nice to meet you all."

…**oh *F*cka f*cka* you  
your dressed to kill me kill me  
so if I die tonight  
at least you thrill me thrill me…**

XXX

River's POV

An hour later and it is just her and Tommy left in the game. The others are chalking up her unbelievably good streak of winning to beginners luck, but she can tell Tommy may think otherwise.

Harry has left to go get another drink and Jim and Hermes are watching as she and Tommy battle it out for the rather considerable amount of money on the table. She had folded early in the last game to try and assuage some of his suspicion but it doesn't seem to be working as well.

The cards are dealt out and the flop reveals the queen of spades, ten of diamonds, and eight of spades are on the table. Tommy smiles and proceeds to take a sip of his drink and she knows she has him fooled into thinking he is going to win.

"One thousand credits." He says as he moves the chips into the center of the table.

She doesn't want to give away too much and bites her lip nervously to play up the act. "Call." She says and moves the chips in.

The river reveals the six of spades, and Tommy blanches a little but his pride won't let him stop now.

"Two thousand." He says, half hoping she folds.

She bites her lip nervously again. "Well I only have twenty five hundred so why don't I just go all in and get it over with." She says.

"Are you sure you want to do that Marie? It seems awfully risky." Book says as he watches the game unfold. She refrains from rolling her eyes and bites her lip again.

"She said it so she must be sure!" Tommy says almost triumphantly. "I'll call that with all in too." He says hurriedly so as to make her stick to the bet. The girl cannot help but smile.

Tommy flips his cards to reveal the jack of hearts and the nine of diamonds. "Straight!" He says with smug satisfaction.

River flips over her cards to reveal the jack of spades and the six of hearts. "Well I've only got two pair." She says with a bit of sorrow in her voice.

"It all comes down to the last card then." Book says as he watches her flip the run over. It's the Ace of spades.

"FLUSH! I win!" River says with barely containable glee. Tommy's jaw just drops open as he stares at the cards. As she begins to pull the chips towards her, Tommy grabs her arm.

"YOU LITTLE CHEAT! THERE IS NO WAY YOU COULD WIN THAT!"

Just before she is about to say something she feels Tommy release her arm and she looks to see that Shepherd Book has grabbed Tommy's free arm and yanked it behind his back.

"I don't think accusing her of cheating is a good idea son. We all saw the game and she won…fair and square. Understand?"

He doesn't reply at first but as Book twists his arm higher he squeaks out that he understands.

"Come on Marie, let's go." Book says as he guides her away from the table and out of the Saloon.

XXX

The first accusation of cheating catches his attention, and as he looks over the railing to the floor below he is even more alert. Al Swearengen did not like surprises, and while the commotion down below would not usually be surprising, it was when he saw that the person causing such a commotion was a young girl whose face he knew very well.

"Get a hold of our friend. Tell him we need to talk."He says to his henchman as he continues to watch as one River Tam and unknown man disappear into the crowded street outside.

XXX

Riddick's POV

I beat them back to the hotel. I am standing at the window looking out to make sure they weren't followed as I hear them unlock the door.

"Ah, sweet victory." River says as she enters the room and flops onto the bed giggling.

"I don't understand how you can be so giddy, that man caused quite a commotion." Book says as he closes the door.

"Irrelevant. Such a commotion such as that is commonplace in such an establishment. The girl's plan was flawless and we reaped the profits."

"What was the final take?" I ask.

"Six thousand five hundred forty two credits." She says as she takes out the wads of cash from her coat pockets.

"Enough for decent equipment, a few changes of clothes, and passage off this rock."

"Affirmative." River says with another giggle.

"I think I am going to wash up and then get some sleep. I forgot how tiring it was to pull off a successful con." Book says as he walks into the bathroom and closes the door.

I wait a minute until I hear the shower turn on and then turn towards River.

XXX

River's POV

"We need to talk." His gravelly voice rumbles out.

"Irrelevant."

"Like gorram hell it is" He says as he approaches the bed.

She rolls her eyes, men can be such boobs. "What the girl chooses to wear is not his concern. The girl is capable of taking care of herself."

"No YOU are my concern. No one should be seeing that much of your skin except me? Dong-ma?

"No."

"No?" He says in disbelief.

"The girl is her own person and will wear what she sees fit. You would do well to remember that _Richard_." She says with an icy glare.

XXX

Riddick's POV

"_**Fahng-tzong fung-kwong duh jeh! **_**What you're wearing isn't even a dress, it's a piece of cloth.."**

She grins wickedly as she answered. "Yes it is."

"Says who?" I growl.

"Umm…Calvin Klein?" She giggles.

"You're not wearing that."

She can barely contain her laughter now. "Says who?"

"Says me, gorramit."

"Too bad I like it." She says smiling.

"I can throw it out." Riddick growls.

The girl proceeds to throw one of her trademark glares at him now. "The girl likes it, and paid her hard earned stolen money for it, don't you dare or you will have a lot more than you bargained for to deal with."

I'm about to test her on those words when the bathroom door opens and the Shepherd walks out. You just got to love that man and his timing.

"Did I miss something?" He says as he glances from River to me and back.

"Negative. Girl was just going to take a shower." River says as she jumps off the bed and darts into the bathroom.

"Lover's quarrel?" Book asks with a slight smirk.

"One of these days that girl is going learn to not run away when we are having a conversation." I say as I go and lie down on the bed to get some sleep. Tomorrow should be an interesting day.

XXX

Al Swearegen could not believe his luck today. Not only did the bar and 'fixed' poker tables make him a considerable profit, but the most wanted girl in the verse walked into his very bar. After his little chat with his 'friend' he felt considerably content to know that a rather large finder's fee would be coming his way shortly.

"Why on earth-that-was she would be traveling with a Shepherd is beyond me." He says to himself as he takes another sip of his scotch. "Should be _real_ interesting to see how the preacher and her fair against Dobson."

XXX

Riddick's POV

The next morning is relatively uneventful. Book says he needs to run to the local abbey in order to take care of a few things before we continue on our way. After that the girl announces that we also have errands to run and proceeds to drag me out into the bustling streets. Twenty minutes later and River and I are wandering around the Eavesdown Docks rather aimlessly.

"Do you even know where you are going girly?"

"Affirmative."

"Doesn't seem that way."

"Well then just wait and let her find her way." She says as she continues to weave through the crowd.

She finally stops in front of a supply store that looks more like a junk heap "Here we are."

"Doesn't look like much."

"Well the girl will just have to prove you wrong." She says as she walks in.

Doesn't look like the girl has the right place when we walk in, it's just a bunch of recycled machine parts and crap around. She walks over to the old man at the counter.

He looks at River curiously as she approaches him "_N__in hao, qing wen wo neng ban nin ma_?"

"Hello Mr. Wu. We require weapons, ammunition, and knives," she says rather bluntly.

"We don't sell those types of things here." He says somewhat surprised.

"Oh yes you do. There is a room in the back filled with them." She says with a smile.

"How did you…"

"Monty." I interject.

"Stupid cocksucka should learn to keep his mouth shut."

"We can pay." She says pulling out one of the pouches from earlier.

"Why didn't you say that? Right this way!" And Mr. Wu is now leading us to the back room.

When we get back there we are greeted with the sight of racks of guns, knives, body armor, ammunitions, grenades, and other 'toys.'

"What's your preference?" Mr. Wu asks.

"Everything." River says and she looks like a kid in a candy store with the biggest grin that lights up every inch of her face.

XXX

River's POV

After twenty seven minutes choosing weaponry, the girl and Orpheus regard their selections.

For his personal weapons he has picked two curved blades with saw teeth over the curved side, a set of throwing daggers, a boot knife, and a small plasma pistol. He did not want the pistol but the girl insisted that diversity was more efficient.

For her arsenal, she has gathered a broader array of weapons. Two antique 9mm H&K USP Match pistols, a set of throwing knives, and two katanas. He didn't approve of the guns but the girl liked them.

For their shared inventory they selected some grenades, sawn-off shotgun, and PGM Sniper Rifle. Light weight body armor, holsters for their respective weapons, fiber wire, flash bombs, gloves, a small flashlight, a tool kit, and sedatives rounded out their purchases.

"Please come any time. Your business is always welcome here." Mr. Wu said as he was packaging up their weapons in two duffle bags.

"Good to know." Riddick grumbled.

"Thank you Mr. Wu." The girl says as they depart to the front of the store and back out onto the street.

XXX

Riddick's POV

I am lugging the duffle bags out of the store and trying to keep up with River skipping down the street as a rather tall man bumps into me.

"Watch where you're walking _bèndàn_." I say as I turn back towards him.

"Whatcha call me?" He says.

"You heard me."

"See now that isn't the best thing to say to a man like me. I'll kill a man in fair fight…or if I think he's going to start one."

"Orpheus hurry up!" River calls from a few yards up.

"Yeah hurry up Orpheus!" The man says mockingly.

I grit my teeth and walk away, no need to cause a scene before we even leave this hello hole. The man just turns and laughs as he walks into Mr. Wu's store.

XXX


	17. Chapter 16 Jet Sex

Jet Sex/ The Beginning is the End is the Beginning

I am so sorry that I have not posted in so long. For those of you who have favorite and reviewed recently, thank you. A lot is going on in my life so it makes things a little difficult for me right now. On another note, if anyone would like to Beta this story for me I would greatly appreciate it, as I seem to have lost my old one. This chapter is not beta so please don't hold spelling or grammar against me. Again I own nothing and this is all for fun. Enjoy!

…Sometime later…

XXX

"I don't understand why we didn't leave that sumbitch in a pool of his own blood." The tall man says.

"We'd be dead. Can't get paid if you're dead." One of his companions replies.

"Can't get paid if you crawl away like a bitty little bug, neither. We gotta share this job. Ten percent of nothing is…let me do the math here…nothing into nothing, carry the…"

Tired of the big man's complaining the woman walking with the two men interjects. "So we'll find a buyer on Boros. There's gotta be a…"

"Boros is too big. It's crawling with Alliance, they could just be waiting for us." The other man says.

"You really think Badger'll sell us out to the Feds?" She asks.

"If he hasn't already."

XXX

…Meanwhile…

River's POV

"So where do you think we should continue our little game?" Riddick asks as they continue walking down the street.

"Boros or Beaumonde." She replies without glancing back to him.

"Not Core?"

"Negative. Start from the edge and work our way in. It will be easier to pick off the border planets first. It will also send…"

But before she can continue Riddick is pulling her into the nearest alley by her forearm and slamming her behind some crates.

"What the gorram hell…" She begins to say before he clamps a hand over her mouth.

"Shut it!" He says into her ear at a whisper. After a minute he releases his hand and brings her to the edge of the crates and points across the street to see for herself. There for all to see on the holographic billboard is her face…on a warrant.

"_Gao yang jong duh goo yang_," she says with disbelief.

"That is the last time you wear a dress like that again." He says smugly while tightening his grip on her arm.

Seven hundred fifty thousand credits for her capture. This was problematic and not acceptable. She had traced all lines of thought last night and not one had recognized her, all her calculations had been precise and accurate. But there it was, the shiny proof that she had screwed up.

But what made her more irritated was that she knew that Orpheus would not let her live it down. And that was the truly unacceptable part.

XXX

Riddick's POV

"You fucked up last night sweetheart."

"The girl sees this _Richard. _Verbally acknowledging the fact will not change the present situation. So please keep comments such as those to your own gorram self." She spat out.

I can't help but smirk at her. Girl's cute when she's annoyed. Her scent screams of hostility, and my smirk deepens to a feral grin. If we weren't as humped as we were right now I would take her right now just because she is so intoxicating.

"We need a plan." I whisper in her ear.

XXX

River's POV

"The girl is trying to navigate the map of the problematic." She says as she shakes her arm out of his grasp, the outlines of my fingers already beginning to form on her arm. She begins to look at the crates they are standing in back off.

"Interesting." She says as she begins to move crates around.

"Care to share with the rest of the class?"

"Cryo-crates." She says as she opens the lid off one of the smaller ones.

"Which helps us how?" He says darkly.

"You can smuggle the girl on board a ship and get us off this planet. Hermes will secure passage under false pretenses and we can depart without anyone the wiser."

"You sure it's a good idea for you to be in cryo that long?"

"This provides optimal results."

"I'm going to have to lug this crate back to the hotel, ain't I?" He asks with annoyance.

"Oh don't complain, it's lighter than the fuel cells you had to drag through the desert."

He grits his teeth and oozes more agitation.

"Get your ass in there then." He says as he moves to help her inside.

XXX

When Riddick enters the hotel room a little later carrying a duffle and a cryo-crate, Book is a little surprised.

"Should I even ask?" Book asks glancing up from his reading.

"Girl got ID'ed after our little con last night. We're leaving..now." Riddick says as he sets the box down.

"I take it that you two have a plan?"

"Yes, now get your stuff together preacher you and your 'Missionary' are off this rock in one hour."

"And I take it we are smuggling River off in the cyro-box you just brought in."

As if on cue River pops up from the crate in question. "Affirmative." She says.

"We need you to find us a boat off this rock, so hurry the hell up." Riddick says as he begins throwing everything they bought earlier into duffle bags.

XXX

He didn't think it would be too hard to secure passage on a disreputable looking vessel with the amount of credits they had secured last night. There were plenty of dishonest looking people milling around the Eavesdown Docks as he walked through, regarding each ship as he passed.

Several men had tried to tempt him to board their ships, promising to be the best around, but he just passed them by. His training was guiding him; he was looking for something specific. That's when he sees it, shining like a beacon, a Firefly.

A voice draws him back to the present. "You're gonna come with us."

"Excuse me?" Book says looking at the girl in front of him sitting in front of the ship and twirling a parasol.

"You like ships. You don't seem to be looking at the destinations. What you care about is the ships, and mine's the nicest." She says with a wide smile while pointing at the ship behind her.

Now he seriously stops and gives the ship a look-over. "She don't look like much."

The girl moves to stand in front of him and continue her pitch. "Well, she'll fool ya'. You ever sail in a Firefly?"

He cannot help but chuckle at this. "Long before you were crawling… Not an aught three, though. Didn't have the extenders, tended to shake."

She smile more brightly now. "So, uh, how come you don't care where you're going?"

He knows her question is meant to be innocent, but he cannot help but stiffen slightly. She doesn't seem to notice though. "Cause how you get there is the worthier part."

"Are you a missionary?" She asks.

He cannot help but smile at how far from the truth her assessment is. "I guess you could say that... I'm a Shepherd, from the Southdown Abbey. Book, I'm called Book. I've been out of the world for a spell. Like to walk it a while, maybe bring the word to them as need it told."

"Well, I'm Kaylee. This is Serenity, and she's the smoothest ride from here to Boros for anyone who can pay." She pauses at this and he can see the worry on her face. "Can you pay, or…?"

"Well, I've got some cash. It would be for me and my apprentice."

"Oh? I just saw you walking by yourself." Kaylee says.

"He's bringing the heavier luggage, he will be here shortly."

XXX

However, what Book didn't realize he was being watched as he shook Kaylee's hand and departed to tell Riddick he had found them passage off Persephone. The man approached the young woman after Book had disappeared into the crowd once more.

"Excuse me, miss?" He asked.

"Yes?" She said looking up from her seated position, somewhat startled.

"I would like to book passage with this ship if possible."

The girl in front of him brightened at this. "Absolutely! It would be our pleasure. I'm Kaylee, this is Serenity, and you are?" She says as she moves to shake his hand.

"Dobson, Lawerence Dobson."

XXX

Riddick's POV

I watched as the cryo-box was loaded into the cargo bay of the ship. Why the preacher thought this would be a good mode of transportation was beyond me. Looked like a hunk a metal being held together with tape.

There was a loud bang and the cryo-box was dropped unceremoniously onto the floor of the cargo bay.

"Careful with that!" I bark out. The man unloading the box is clearly frightened of me, even with the baggy robes the preacher loaned me I still look…intimidating. The large cowl covers my head and most of my face, and robe drops down to skim the top of my boots. I can't help but think of the grim reaper, and I stifle a laugh.

That's when I hear footsteps behind me and turn to see three people approaching the bay. _Tai kong suo you de xing qiu sai jin wo de pi gu_! The hundun from earlier is one of the men approaching! Of all the crappy little boats the preacher could have picked and he picked one that has someone who could trace me back to the girl. This is going to be a problem.

That's when the annoyingly sunny girl from earlier chirps up.

"Mal, this is Richard. Richard, this is our captain."

The hundun and the tall woman walk past me after sending a few glances my direction. Nice to know the hundun is at least a moron if he can't recognize me with this shitty robe on. I now turn my attention to the man who stops before me and regard him. Tall, muscular, rough around the edges, and the trench coat he's wearing is a dead giveaway…a browncoat.

"Captain Reynolds."

He looks me up and down. There is a hint of indignation in his body language, and he smells of his own self righteousness. Oh this is going to tons of fun, five seconds after meeting him and I already want to shiv him. "Welcome aboard." He says and then turns to the girl. "This all we got?"

"Yup." She says and then scurries off into the cargo bay. He turns and follows her and I glance out one last time before walking in myself.

XXX

They stood watching the scene bellow them. The disdain was dripping from the first mates aura.

"Now we have a boatful of citizens right on top of our... stolen cargo…. That's a fun mix."

He simply rolled his eyes. "Ain't no way in the 'verse they could find that compartment Zoe, even…" he pauses to regard the three people bellow. "Even if they were lookin' for it."

"Why not?"

He's thrown by the question. "'Cause... ?"

"Oh yeah, this is gonna go great. Real great Mal."

He turns and begins to walk away. "If anyone gets nosy, just, you know... shoot 'em."

This throws Zoe "Shoot 'em, sir?"

He simply shrugs. "Politely."

He thinks of the situation at hand and doesn't see how it could get any worse. He stomps up the stairs and pokes his head into the bridge. "Any word from the ambassador yet Wash?"

The pilot, Wash, turns away from the plastic dinosaurs he was previously playing with to answer. "Not as of yet."

"Great, just great. I just want to get the hell of this gorram rock and she's holdin' us up." He then stomps out of the bridge.

Wash says as he turns back to his dinosaurs. Ironically, that's when the light for the shuttle communicator came on.

"Inara. You're just in time."

A small chuckle could be heard from the communicator. "Let me guess. We're in a hurry."

Wash began prepping Serenity for takeoff, sees a signal, flips a switch. "Looks like. Port hatch green for docking."

"Locked in five…four...three…"

When he see the docking light go green he turns, and calls back towards the common area. "The Ambassador has returned!"

XXX

…Reality Shifts…

_Here is the time for us to know__  
__a secret sky for us to go,__  
__you've never been before, oh no._

She's standing in the middle of a battlefield. Soldiers are yelling and running, gunfire everywhere, stuff blowing up all around her, yet she is untouched.

_A jumbo jet, just you and me,__  
__no parachute, it's pilot free._

Then she sees him, sees him running dodging, and banking back and forth. He hits the dirt for cover. His face is dirty and he's breathing hard. After a moment, he's up and running to rejoin his company in a makeshift foxhole.

_I guess it's time to go, oh no._

She blinks and then she is behind the foxhole, looking at the man's face she just saw running for cover. He's tired, barely running on empty, and on the verge of breaking to a million pieces.

"Sergeant, Command says air support is holding till they can assess our status." Says a young radio operator from behind her shoulder.

He takes a breath to steady himself and answers. "Our status is that we need some gorram air support. Now get back on line and tell 'em to get in here."

_Don't be shy, say goodbye,__  
__let's find out if heaven is a lie._

A dark skinned warrior woman calls to him from the other side of the foxhole. "That skiff is shredding us, sir."

The younger man's voice calls out again. "They won't move without a lieutenant's authorization code, sir."

Angry, the man before her walks over and rips off the badge from a dead Lieutenant's uniform and gives it to the radio operator.

_Never let me go.  
I'll never let you fall._

…Reality Shifts…

_Above the clouds, above them all,__  
__we draw the lines with smoke and coke.__  
__But then you want some more._

"We're not gonna die. We can't die, Bendis. You know why?...Because we are so _very_ pretty. We are just too pretty for God to let us die. Huh? Look at that chiseled jaw. Huh? C'mon."

She feels a tear slide down her cheek, she knows it isn't her reality, knows it isn't her memory but it breaks her heart anyways. She hears the roaring sound overhead. She knows what's coming.

_Sex turbulences, seats D and B,__  
__we drop our love bomb full of c.__  
__Then we watch them fall, never._

"If you won't listen to me, listen to that. Those are our angels coming to blow the Alliance to the hot place." He turns to the warrior woman, "Zoe, tell the 82nd…"

_The more we fly, the more we climb,__  
__the more we know that heaven is a lie._

She watches as the woman can barely form the words. "They're not coming…Command says it's too hot. They're pulling out. We're to lay down arms."

_Never let me go.__  
__I'll never let you fall._

She watches as Malcolm Reynolds stands stunned, in denial, and breaks into a millions little pieces.

…Reality Shift's Again…

XXX

Riddick's POV

I cannot gorram believe I have to stand here and listen to this shit. All I want to do is throw one of the many concealed shiv I have into his jugular. I swear the man just likes to hear himself give orders.

"Meals are taken up here in the dining area, the kitchen is pretty much self-explanatory, you're welcome to eat what there is any time, what there is is pretty standard fare, I guess, protein in all the colors of the rainbow. We do have sit-down meals, the next one being at about 1800."

The annoying girl, Kaylee, speaks up at this. "I think Shepherd Book has offered to help me prepare something." She says with a smile.

This does not please the captain one bit, and I cannot help but smile at his dislike of the idea of a preacher on his boat.

"You're a Shepherd?" Not hiding his disdain in the slightest.

"Thought the outfit and the apprentice gave it away... Is it a problem?"

Kaylee speaks up again. "Of course not! It's no problem, 'cause it's not."

"No." The captain bites his tongue. I know he wants to say yes it's a gorram problem but he won't, not to a paying customer.

He continues on with his rambling talk from before he was interrupted. "As I said, you're welcome to visit the dining area any time. Apart from that, I have to ask you to stay in the passenger dorm while we're in the air. The bridge, the engine room, cargo bay - they're all off limits without an escort."

Now this is a problem. River's cryo is going to need to be reset if she's going to ride the entire way to Boros in that box. "Some of my personal effects are in the cargo bay."

He turns to me at this. "I figure you all got luggage you're gonna need to get into. Soon as we're done here we'll be happy to fetch 'em with you." As I turn to walk towards the cargo bay I hear him clear his throat to continue and turn back towards him.

"Now I have to tell you all one other thing and I apologize in advance for the inconvenience. Unfortunately, we've been ordered by the Alliance to drop some medical supplies off on Whitefall. It's the fourth moon on Athens, a little out of our way, but we should have you on Boros no more than a day off schedule."

Medical supplies my ass. Man reeks of smuggler if I ever saw one. "What medical supplies?" Book asks inquisitively. I know he realizes it's a lie like I do.

"I honestly didn't ask." The captain replies.

The first mate Zoe, steps in to cover his apparent lie. "Probably plasma, insulin, whatever they ain't got enough of on the border moons."

"Alliance says jump..." Mal starts. Man this guy is getting on my gorram nerves.

"All right." I say a little too gruffly. He glares at me a little too long and I am really beginning to get annoyed with this man.

"Zoe, you wanna take 'em to the cargo bay?" He says.

"Yes, Sir." She says and begins to walk away.

"Anything else you need, just... ask. We, uh, we're here to serve." And with that he and the pilot, Wash turn around and walk toward the other door leading to the bridge.

With that I turn and follow Book, Dobson, and Zoe into the cargo hold. I don't make a move towards the cryo-box knowing it would be too risky to reset the box with all these people around. As I move away from the duffle bags near the cryo-box Dobson bumps into me.

"Oops! I'm sorry." He says and scurries by while glancing at the box. That man is just a might to curious about the box for my liking.

I hear a shuttle door open and look up to see a woman descending the stairs. She's wearing some fancy dress and her hair is up out of her face. The way she moves, deliberate, yet as if she's floating, she's a dead giveaway for a companion. Well this motley crew is just getting more interesting.

"Hello, Mal. I see we have some new faces." She says as she walks towards the captain, Kaylee, and the Shepherd.

"Hey you." Kaylee says warmly.

"Hey you." She replies with warmth that is unusual for a companion, or at least the ones I have known.

"Ambassador, this is Shepherd Book." Mal says.

"I'd have to say this is the first time we've had a preacher on board." She says with surprise.

"Well, I wasn't expecting to see a state official, either." He says with slight hesitation as he takes her hand and bows slightly.

All I can think is the old man must be slipping if he can't see her for what she really is. The captain laughs at the preacher's mistake.

"I'm missing something funny?" Book asks in response to the captain's laugh.

"Ambassador" is Mal's way of…" The woman begins but the captain cuts her off.

"She's a whore, Shepherd." And the preacher is clearly thrown I cannot help but chuckle a little.

Kaylee feels the need to jump in at this. "The term is Companion."

"Yeah, I always get those mixed up." He says to her and then turns back towards the woman in question. "How's business?"

"None of yours." She quickly responds.

…Sometime later…

We are all seated at the dining table, trying to enjoy the protein glue that Kaylee and Book have thrown together. I grit my teeth as I look at it. First thing I do when I get off this hunk of junk is going to be to get some real food.

"Captain, you mind if I say grace?" Book asks in seriousness. I almost laugh at the sheer idea of the captain allowing it.

Predictably he responds how I would imagine he would. "Only if you say it out loud." He starts eating without waiting. If it wasn't part of my gorram cover I would do the same, but I don't and lower my head. Book lowers his head a moment, as do Kaylee, Dobson, and Jayne, and then they eat as well.

But the preacher just doesn't know when to stop. "So, does it happen a lot? Government commandeering your ship, telling you where to go?"

"That's what governments are for… get in a man's way."

Dobson feels the need to inject his two cents here. "Well, it's good, if the supplies are needed." Something about this man just bothers me. And it's making me itch to not stick my fork into his eye socket.

The tall man pipes in now. "We're just happy to be doing good works." That's utter bullshit. Man's a hired merc if ever I saw one. I'm truly amazed that the ape man hasn't figured that out yet. But I guess a merc would be missing the necessary brain cells to do that.

"I hear a lot of the border moons are in bad shape. Plagues, and famine..."

"Well, some of that's exaggerated, and some of it ain't. All those moons… just like the central planets, they're as close to Earth-That-Was as we could make 'em: gravity, atmosphere, and such, but... "

"Once they're terraformed, they'll dump settlers on there with nothing but blankets, hatchets, maybe a herd. Some of them make it, some of them..."

"Then I guess it's good we're helping." I say to end the discussion. No one seems to want to continue it after that.

XXX

…Awhile later…

Mal's just about to strip his shirt off to go to sleep when Wash's voice comes in shakey over the com..

" Mal, you might wanna get up here..."

He knows that voice, that oh god we're all gonna die voice and he's up the ladder in a flash and pacing quickly to the bridge. He sees Wash studying a screen when he walks in.

"What is it?"

He turns and looks at the captain, worry etched on his face. "Signal. Somebody went on the Cortex, hailed the nearest Alliance Cruiser."

"Tell me you scrambled it." Mal says with irritation.

"All to hell, but I don't know how much got through. Alliance got a pin in us for sure."

"_Ni ta ma de. Tianxia suoyoude ren. Dou gaisi."_

Wash's face is even more ashen than before. "We got a mole on board."

XXX

…Reality Shifts…

She feels it coming, feels the hands drawing close…Two by two… And she's being sucked back towards them. She fights the pull but they invade her mind. It fragments and implodes, making her memories jumble together…

_Send a heartbeat to the void that cries through you_

_Relive the pictures that have come to pass_

…She strapped to the metal table, needles digging into her arms, her legs, her head. They're stimulating the different parts of her body with electrical impulses…Triggering memories, thoughts, muscle memory…anything they can get their greedy hands on….

_For now we stand alone_

_The world is lost and blown_

_And we are flesh and blood disintegrate_

_With no more to hate_

…Now she's in the training room, gunshots being fired at her from automated turrets and all she can do is to run, jump, and try to fly to the other side. An explosion in front of her blinds her…

_Is it bright where you are?_

_And have the people changed?_

_Does it make you happy you're so strange?_

…A bright light shines above her and she hears the voices…"How is the subject performing to the stimuli?" A disembodied voice asks.

"Favorably." The man in front of her eyes replies. And that's when the mask is put on her face and she loses conscientiousness….

_Delivered from the blast_

_The last of a line of lasts_

_The pale princess of a palace cracked_

…Curled into a ball on the bed, she screams and cries herself to sleep. They've done it, they have finally broken her. All the memories flood into her head, hers, theirs, and the ones they put in there. But they don't realize what they have truly done. What their minds scream out at her, but she knows…knows their secrets….the horrors….

_And now the kingdom comes_

_Crashing down undone_

_And I am a master of a nothing place_

_Of recoil and grace_

…She steels herself against the onslaught, she knows…

_The echo bounces off me_

_The shadow lost beside me_

_There's no more need to pretend_

_Because now I can begin again_

…She hears the explosions, feels the heat of the blast behind her…

_And in your darkest hour, I hold secrets flame_

_We can watch the world devoured in its pain_

_Strange_

XXX

Exciting =) Hope this update made you all happy. I promise the next update will be posted a lot sooner than this one.


	18. Ch 17 Spies, Bad Things, & Somewhere

WOW 100+ reviews for my story thus far! A big thank you for all of you who take the time to review and tell me what you think. It really means a lot. As promised this next chapter was posted a lot soon than the last, (I bet you didn't expect two in one week huh?) and I hope to keep up this positive trend of posting more often. The story is un-betaed so you will have to forgive my spelling/grammar mistakes. I own none of these characters or these worlds, I'm just borrowing them for my own amusement, so please no lawyers.

AN: The full chapter title will be listed in here instead of the title bar because I am trying to use the song names for the title to let you all know which songs I am using the lyrics from.

Chapter 17 Spies, Bad Things, and Somewhere a Clock is Ticking

XXX

…Reality shifts…

Something is not right. She is a disembodied figment, floating along cool grey metal. She can feel the grating under her bare feet, the hum of electrical brainwave currents pull her along.

…_**I awake to find no peace of mind**_

_**I said how do you live…as a fugitive**_

_**down here, where I cannot see so clear**_

_**I said what do I know**_

_**show me the right way to go…**_

She can see every one of them like a brightly colored string, each leading to their respective core. But only one holds her interest...

…_**and the spies came out of the water**_

_**and you're feeling so bad 'cos you know**_

_**that the spies hide out in every corner**_

_**but you can't touch them no**_

_**'cos they're all spies…**_

…He has tried to paint the roses red, tried to hide his true color, but she sees, sees the paint that drips off that string, sees the purple underneath…

…_**they're all spies…**_

And she screams, because it's all she can do.

…Meanwhile…

Riddick's POV

I sit up from the bed with a jolt and listen. Something isn't right; it's as if her fingertips are trying to shake my mind awake. This cannot be good. I don't even bother with the robes as I rush towards the cargo bay.

The closer I get the more I can feel her, and the panic that radiates from her. I look over the railing of the upper walkway and that's when I see him. See the _gorram hundan _playing with the cryo crate.

"GET THE HELL AWAY FROM THAT" I bellow out as I rush down the stairs while Dobson turns away from the cryo crate towards me and immediately his eyes widen.

But that's when I feel someone tap my shoulder and as I turn I am greeted with a punch to my face.

"Forget your toothpaste?"

I shake my head a little and turn to face him. "Last person that did that to me ended up with a knife in the gut."

"What'd you tell them?"

"Tell who?"

And that's when the Mal draws his gun, puts it in my face. "_Ti wo de pi gu. _You must have a goddam death wish."

"And you're a _gorram_ fed!" He practically screams in my face. That's when I hear the laughing and the cocking of a gun behind me and notice the Captain's eyes go a little bit wider.

"Sorry Captain, you guessed the wrong passenger."

"Son of a bitch." I swear under my breath.

"Drop that firearm, Captain Reynolds." Dobson says.

A beat goes by and then the _hundan_ does and I turn and face Dobson.

"This is not my best day ever." Mal says as he holds his hands up.

"Really? Couldn't have guessed." I say through gritted teeth.

"Richard or… whatever your name is… you are bound by law to stand down."

"Wait, come again?" Mal says with some shock evident as he moves away from me.

Instead of the bumbling businessman façade earlier, Dobson is now a very tightly wound fed, and becoming twitchier by the second. "Get on the ground. Get on the ground!"

"Lawman, you are making a very big mistake." I say and remain standing.

"Is here a reward?" Mal says hopefully from beside me. I just turn and glare at him. Man must have gotten one too many bottles broken over his head to say shit like that.

"I got a cruiser en route for intercept, so talk all you want. You got about twenty minutes." And with that little remark I turn my attention back to Dobson.

"Might have less than that." I say with a feral grin.

"Yeah, threaten me…"

"What's going on? We…" A female voice says. And that's when he fucks up. Dobson spins toward the voice and I throw him into the nearest crate, causing his aim to miss its mark by a good ten feet. I hear the ricochet of a bullet on metal and the scurry of feet towards me, but all I can see is the look on Dobson's face as I begin to choke the air from his lungs.

"RICHARD STOP!" I hear Book say as hands grab at my arms and try to pull me off the little man, and again I hear a gun cocking behind me.

"Might be a good idea to let him go now." A female voice says and I relent. He coughs and sputters as he falls on the floor. The big ape man runs forward and immediately knocks him a good one to the head.

"Just tie him up Jayne." Zoe says as she keeps her gun leveled at me.

"Aww but where's the fun in that?" He says and he pulls out a large gun.

"Jayne, I said tie him up!" She repeats with irritation. The ape man then proceeds to duct tape Dobson's now unconscious form while muttering in mandarin.

Book moves to stand next to me as the commotion dies down. The Companion and the mechanic move toward the center of the cargo bay and Mal moves to the com and radios up to the pilot. "Wash, we are going to have some unwelcome guests soon unless you can do some of that fancy flying you always bragging about."

A static voice sounds over the com. "On it Captain." And he breathes a sigh of relief as he moves back towards us.

"I think you two have some explaining to do." The Companion says as Zoe keeps her gun leveled at us and the crew of Serenity stares.

"Well then why don't we find out what's in that gorram box, huh?" Mal says as he moves toward our cryo crate that Dobson had been fiddling with. And I cannot help but laugh at how royally fucked up this day has been.

As I begin to laugh Mal turns away from the cryo crate momentarily to stare at me and looks at me with more than a hint of disbelief. "Something funny?"

"Riddick are you sure you should…" Book begins to grow uneasy at what he assumes is going to happen.

"Ah hell preacher, the jig is up, seems a shame the little hellion should miss the fun at this point." I say through chuckles.

He just stares at me and then throws up his hands in defeat and walks to sit on a nearby crate. "Fine, whatever, I take no responsibility for whatever happens."

"Go ahead, wake sleeping beauty." I say as I lean up against another crate and wait for the show to begin.

XXX

"Excuse me what?" Mal says utterly confused.

"Sleeping beauty?" Zoe asks.

"Open the damn box and find out for yourself, but I warn you… she bites" Riddick says as the chuckles die down.

After the warning he got from Richard, Mal nervously turns some dials on the cryo box and pulls a release lever. There are some flashing lights and then the four latches twist automatically at the corners. Then the top comes slightly up with a hydraulic whoosh, dry ice pouring out the sides.

Everyone is peering in for a better look but still glued to their respective spots as Mal kicks the lid back and the fog of dry ice begins to clear. Mal steps forward, looks, but is not prepared for the sight that he sees.

Curled inside is a naked, unconscious teenage girl. Mal looks at the girl, then back at the two mysterious passengers, and then back to the girl.

"Huh."

XXX

Riddick's POV

"You may want to move back now." I say with a laugh.

"Oh and why is that?"

"I don't think she's expecting to wake up right now so she may be a little…"

"Waking up?" Mal asks with disgust. "Finding out she's been sold to some borderworld baron? Or, I'm sorry - was this one for you? Is it true love? Because you do seem …"

But Mal can't finish his statement, as quick hands come out and proceed to grab his neck and hold a sharpened blade to his jugular. Once again there is the sound of guns being cocked as River holds a blade to the Captain's neck.

"Most of your assumptions have outlived their usefulness." She calmly purrs says into his ear, like a jungle cat warning another predator.

"_Niao shi de du-gui_." Mal says as he feels the blade against his skin.

I can't hold it in any longer, the look on that man's face as he stands there with a knife to his throat is priceless and I am laughing hysterically. "I told… you she…bites."

XXX

River's POV

Malcolm directs his next question to Hermes and Orpheus. "Would one of you mind telling the w_ei xian_ to remove the knife from my throat?"

"I told you I take no responsibility for anything."

"Talk to the girl with the blade to your throat not me." Riddick says.

She rolls her eyes at this. "She will remove her claws and promises to behave when the others lower their weapons."

With that Mal frantically waves for Zoe and Jayne to holster their guns, and the girl does as she promised and releases him. He steps away from where the girl is standing in the cryo crate and moves toward where the others are standing.

She looks around the cargo bay, taking everything in. "Mid-bulk Transport. Standard Radion Accelerator core. Class code 03-K64—Firefly. In need of a new catalyzer, but… a good ship."

"That's what I keep tellin' the Cap' but…"

"Kaylee, not now."

That's when her senses clear from the cryo and she is bombarded with their thoughts.

"…**It's not my fault people don't listen…"**

"…**What in Buddha's name?..."**

"…**Girl had a knife to my throat! The **_**mo ming qi miao**_** had a knife to my…"**

"…**Hey isn't that the same girl from…**

"…**What's kind of person would smuggle a person in cryo?..."**

"…**I take no responsibility for anyone she kills…**

"…**She looks a lot better without those clothes on…."**

She shivers at the onslaught of voices and watches as the companion, Inara, makes a move to give the girl her robe but is held back by Mal. As Riddick makes a move to help her out of the cryo box, Mal stops him.

"No one moves tell I get some answers." He says slipping back into the role of Captain. She cannot help but roll her eyes at his wariness. She promised to behave.

"Fuck that, I ain't your crew." Riddick says as he takes a step towards her again, only to have another gun pointed at his back. The girl quirks an eyebrow at the rag tag crew in front of her; these people were very trigger happy.

"It's fine. Captain Tight-pants needs to exert control over the situation in order to maintain his calm." She says with a huff and folds her hand over her chest. The action leads to her hearing a new wave of thoughts about her breasts from the man they call Jayne and she rolls her eyes again.

Riddick does not advance again but oozes irritation at her state of undress. She finds this amusing.

"Now who exactly are you, why are you in that cryo box?" Mal asks.

"She is River Marie Tam, pleased to make your acquaintance Malcolm Renyolds."

"Okay…I'm confused, how do you know my name? Cause I don't seem to remember any jack in the box knife wielding girl. Did someone send you?"

She smiles a genuine smile at him. "Negative, no one sent the girl to cause you any harm and the girl does not plan to."

"So what are you doing in a cryo crate on my gorram ship?"

She struggles to find words to adequately answer the query she has been asked and after a minute turns to Hermes for help. "How would you describe our trio in words they would understand?" She asks.

"Let's just call us a merry band of criminals, like you Captain. Although," he says with a chuckle, "it is a little more complicated than that."

"That doesn't explain how you ended up in a box." Zoe states flatly.

"This is half correct Zoe Washburn. We..." she points to herself, Riddick, and Book, "ran into…trouble? Yes that's an appropriate way to describe it, and needed transportation of Persephone."

"How come she knows the cap' and Zoe's names? I thought she said she never met 'em?" The woman who is like a bright ray of sunshine asks.

"Yeah, you might wanna clear that one up for us." Mal says as he crosses his arms.

She huffs at his defensiveness, and after a minute of calculations decides that the simplest and most useful answer is the one that will piss Riddick off the most…unfortunately.

"She is many things, dancer, valkyrie, an Iron Queen, but above all she is a reader." She says in a sing song voice. This earns her a barrage of disbelieving remarks and thoughts, which the exception of Jayne, whose eyes bug out slightly due to his earlier thoughts.

"A reader? Really? That's the best you can come up with? Don't you think that's a'lil farfetched?" Mal says with a chuckle.

Now she is just irritated. He asks for an answer yet rejects what she puts forth. She will just have to show him the error of his ways. With a sly smirk she gives him his proof. "What was it you told Bendis in Serenity Valley? 'We can't die..You know why?...Because we are so _very _pretty.' Was that it Sergeant Renyolds?"

Mal has ceased chuckling and just stands slack jawed and at a loss for words. Zoe retains her stoic shield but it falters ever so slightly.

She smiles wider as she watched the man floundering to find his voice. He finally manages to get out a few words. "But..uhh…hmm….uhh…how?"

"Genetic anomaly exaggerated by the interference of an outside source."

"Come again?"

"All will be explained Captain Reynolds. But now the girl requires her clothing, it's getting to be a bit chilly in here. It would also be a good idea for you to question that purple belly before he frees himself from the duct tape. Shall we reconvene in an half an hour to discuss further particulars?" She says as she hops out of the cryo box and moves towards the lower doorway.

"Umm… sure?" Mal says in disbelief as he watches the girl walks out of the cargo bay.

As she moves out of the doorway and down the hall she gets several very strong mental images of her rear end in very different situations, and rolls her eyes. Men are so predictable…

especially the cacophonous music following her out the door.

XXX

Riddick follows a few meters behind River as she exits the cargo bay, and Mal thinks better of questioning it or stopping him.

"Did anyone just understand what happened?" Mal asks tentatively.

"Son, I found with those two… it's better not to ask." Book answers.

Zoe turns towards the preacher now. "Is she really a reader?" She asks.

"Undoubtedly...But, if you have questions you will want to save them for her, I'm a little hazy on some of the details myself." He says as he gets up and moves towards the stairs leading to the dining hall.

The rest of the crew stands there for a moment trying to process what they have just been told, but failing to fully digest it.

Mal finally breaks the silence. "Alright people, thirty minutes then we get to hear a bed time story. Zoe go fill your husband in on some of this n_iu shi_, Sunshine you go give are girl a checkup from that last burn, and Jayne you come with me. We got a fed to question."

"Can I bring Vera?" Jayne asks hopefully.

"NO." Mal says as he storms off towards the passenger dorms.

XXX

River's POV

She is shuffling through her duffle bag when she hears him approaching. "Don't start." She says as she hears the door open.

"Wasn't smart girly. What did we say about…"

She sighs. "Irrelevant."

"Like hell it is." He says as he comes up and spins her to face him and his projections of anger and frustration begins to overwhelm her.

She takes a deep breath and then begins. "There is an opportunity here, one that has just presented itself, and needs further observations before calculations can be complete. Said observations cannot be completed without full disclosure. So allow the girl to collect her data and then you can vent your… _frustrations_."

He studies her for a minute, processing what she has said, not liking what he has heard but she can see his mind processing it none the less.

And then his face relaxes the tinniest amount. "You better be right about said opportunity."

"Or what?" She says with a smile. "Will you bend me over and spank me like you thought about doing so earlier?"

And instead of anger overwhelming her now it's lust. And the dissonance transitions into something more identifiable.

…_**When you came in the air went out**_

_**And every shadow filled up with doubt…**_

"You really have a smart mouth don't you?" He says as he backs her up towards the wall. Her back hits it and she feels his hands skim across her bare arms and pulls them above her head.

…_**I don't know who you think you are**_

_**But before the night is through….**_

"Subjective." She says as closes her eyes and his free hand begins to dip down to her hip bone. While mentally cursing her lack of speed at finding clothes before he got to the passenger dorm. She was also relishing the retribution he was currently delivering.

…_**I wanna do bad things with you…**_

And that's when she feels him dip into her and arcs into his touch. A few moments later and he releases her hands and she's clawing to get his shirt off. Once that's been ripped in half and disposed of she turns her attention to his pants.

_**...I'm the kind to sit up in his room**_

_**Heart sick an' eyes filled up with blue…**_

"Maybe you need to be reminded who you are fucking with girly." He says as he continues to finger her and enveloping her senses in his lust. She isn't sure which sensation is his or hers. He hoists her legs up around his waist and slams into her as she leaves bloody welts up and down his back.

…_**I don't know what you've done to me…**_

It's manic, needy, and fast. A release of tension they both needed; each of them getting more and more erratic as they climb and approach their climax.

…_**But I know this much is true…**_

And as he slams into her once more, enough to pull them both over the edge she bites his lip hard enough to draw blood.

…_**I wanna do real bad things with you…**_

XXX

…Meanwhile…

Jayne and Mal are in the room with the Dobson, who is now fully awake.

"See I'm in a tricky position, I guess you know. Got me a boatload of terribly strange folk making my life a little more interesting than I generally like, chief among them an Alliance mole." Mal says as he pulls the duct tape off him and he grunts in pain.

"Now I got to know how close the Alliance is, exactly how much you told them before Wash scrambled your call. So...I've given Jayne here the job of finding out."

Dobson looks over to Jayne at this point who then proceeds to pull out his big-ass knife that he loving refers to as Binky.

"He was non-specific as to how."

Mal shakes his head a little then pulls Jayne aside. "Now you only gotta scare him…"

"Pain is scary." Grinning from ear to ear he answers Mal.

Mal just shakes his head again and turns to leave. "Just do it right." And he closes the door.

"Do you have any idea how much trouble you're in?" Dobson says as Jayne sits down on a chair across from him.

"Gee, I never been in trouble with the law before..."Jayne says as he plays with Binky.

"Not like this you haven't. You think this is just a smuggling rap? The package those men are carrying…"

"It's a girl. She's cute, too, but I don't think she's all there, y'know?" He grins at the thought of her entrance onto the ship. "'Course, not all of her has to be..."

"That girl is a precious commodity. They'll come after her. Long after you dispose of me they'll be coming."

"Oh, I'm not gonna kill you, Dobson - what's your first name?"

Reluctantly he answers the scary man with the big knife. "Laurence."

"Laurence. No, I'm just gonna cut on ya' 'til you tell me how much they know." That's when Jayne begins to drag the blade across Dobson's face and he can feel his skin slicing open just a hair.

"They know everything!" He practically screams. "They know every name, every record - they know how many nose hairs you've got."

Jayne is genuinely disappointed at how this 'interrogation' is going. "Ah, see - they don't know a damn thing. It's all over your face, I ain't even... Was gonna get me an ear, too. Aren't you an officer of the law? Well, don't they teach you how to withstand interrogation? Can't even tell a damn lie." He says as he gets up from the chair he was sitting in and walks towards the door.

"Okay. I can see you're not an idiot." Dobson says trying to change tactics.

"Wish I could say the same, Laurence, but... this is disappointing as hell."

"The let me speak the language you will understand. Money. This girl is worth a lot of money. I mean a lot. You kill me, there's nothing. But if you help me out, you'll have enough to buy your own ship. A better one than this piece of crap."

Jayne's hand rests on the door. As much as he knows he should just walk out the door, a part of him can't.

"Does helpin' you mean turin' on the Captain?" He asks over his shoulder.

"Yes it does."

XXX

Just before Mal goes to meet everyone in the dining hall he stops by the bridge to check in with Wash. Just as he steps onto the bridge the proximity alarm goes off.

"How the Hell did they find us? I thought you said we could get around 'em?" Mal says as he walks forward.

"It's not Alliance." Wash says with a shaky voice.

"Wash?"

"It's a smaller vessel. I'm picking up a lot of radiation... they're operating without core containment. Well, that's f_ang zong feng kuang de jie!"_

He looks at Mal, whose eyes grow wider as he gets the visual on the screen.

"Reavers." Mal says as he looks out toward a tiny speck that approaches them.

"Oh god….Oh god, oh god, oh god..."

XXX

River's POV

After venting their frustration, she quickly grabs a pair of cargo pants, a tank top, and her combat boots. She doesn't bother to weapon up and specifically tells Riddick to leave his knives in the room, much to his annoyance.

"You know you really are a pain in my ass." He says as he goes to leave the room.

"But one you enjoy oh so much." She calls to him as he leaves.

After he slams the door closed she grabs her stiletto and conceals it in the rim of her pants. She never said she couldn't have a weapon. She takes a deep breath and exits the dorm after Riddick.

She's standing in the middle of the hallway walking behind Riddick when it hits her like a ton of bricks. She's thrown backwards into the wall from the force of it. She can feel…hear...taste… everything. The blood, the raw flesh, the charred hair, all of it invades her mouth and she feels like she wants to throw up.

"River?" Riddick says as he turns around when he hears her connect with the wall.

She's shaking, squeezing her eyes shut and tears are beginning to trickle down her face.

"Reavers." She mutters.

Mal's voice can be heard over the loud speaker, "This is your captain speaking. We're passing another ship. Looks to be Reavers…"

XXX

There is a collective hush around Serenity. No one dares to breathe for the next five minutes, as if one exhale may make all the difference in the world. All they can do is to wait, hope, pray, and weather the silent storm.

XXX

Riddick's POV

There is no girl, no River, in the body I hold against me right now. There is just as mass of tears, sweat, and shaking from the form in front of me.

"Come on girly talk to me." I say as I hold her close. "Not once on the goddam rock did you lose your shit. You're stronger than this. You don't need to listen to the voices." But nothing seems to bring her back from what she is seeing.

XXX

…Reality Shifts…

…_**I've got this feeling that there's something that I missed**_

_**(I could do most anything to you...)**_

_**Don't you breathe, don't you breathe…**_

She's running. She's bruised, bloodied, and her body wants nothing more than to give up, but she's running.

…_**Something happened, that I never understood**_

_**(I could do most anything to you...)**_

_**You can't leave, you can't leave…**_

She can hear them behind her. Calling to her, but she can't stop and listen. She knows what has to be done.

…_**Every second, dripping off my fingertips**_

_**Wage your war**_ …

She dives through the opening, and rolls. She quickly rights herself and pulls at the wires in the control box. There is a hiss of smoke and sparks, but the doors begin to come to life and close.

…_**Another soldier, says he's not afraid to die**_

_**Well I am scared…**_

She looks around the floor of the anti-chamber, searching desperately as the seconds tick by.

…_**In slow motion, the blast is beautiful**_

_**Doors slam shut…**_

She finds the small bag and hurls it through the closing doors towards them. She meets his eyes and locks onto him. Everything in once moment, all the unspoken words in that one look.

…_**A clock is ticking, but it's hidden far away**_

_**Safe and sound…**_

His face is the last thing she sees as the doors slam shut and she's ripped backwards.

…Reality Shifts Again…

XXX

They wait. Everybody waits. And after a few long seconds...

"They're holding course." Wash says.

Mal lets out a long breath and looks at Wash.

"I guess they weren't hungry. Didn't expect to see them here...

Mal just turns and walks towards the dining hall. "Gettin' awful crowded in my sky."

XXX

Riddick's POV

After a minute or two she stops shaking and her entire body seems to relax into my arms. I look down at her face and see her staring up into my goggled face. I take off the goggles and look down at her face, wishing I could see the color of her eyes.

"She thinks they look prettier through your eyes." She says.

"Where did you just go River?" I ask as she begins to stand up.

"Irrelevant." She says as she looks toward the dining hall.

"No." I say as I stand and grab her face forcing her to look me in the eye. "No it is not irrelevant. What the fuck just happened?"

She takes a deep breath in steading herself before she replies. "She saw what needs to be done."

XXX

He might not have been the best or brightest in his department, but Dobson knew a thing or two. And right now he was pissed, pissed at being choked, knocked out, tied up, and threatened. And he knew that when he got this duct tape off that the crew of Serenity is going to pay, along with that hundan who threw him into that crate.

XXX

AN: Oh exciting! I have been dying to use that last song for some time now and I think it fit in there quite well. I know some of you might think it was out of character to not have Dobson realize who Riddick is, but he isn't a bounty hunter, and while I'm sure some Feds know who he is, not all of them would. Same goes for the crew not knowing Riddick is…well, Riddick. They aren't bounty hunters, so they aren't going to know what a badass he is unless he or River tells them. Anyways, feedback, the good, the bad, and the ugly, is always appreciated. ;) Till next time.


	19. Chapter 18 In Pieces

Thank you for all the wonderful reviews =) They have made me very happy and it's good to know that people are still excited with they direction I am taking the story =) For those of you who have asked and or wondered if Simon will be making an appearance...he will, but not for a little while longer. Anyways, this is all just for fun people so please don't sue me, I am just borrowing the characters for my own amusement.

Chapter 18 In Pieces

XXX

By the time Mal enters the dining hall everyone else, with the exception of Wash, has already gathered. He steps in and takes a seat at the dining table. Inara and Kaylee decided tea would have calming effect on everyone and are giving cups to the crew of Serenity.

"Shall she begin then?" River asks.

"Just give Wash a minute." Mal says as he accepts a cup of tea from Kaylee.

River nods and remains standing, while Riddick moves to stand against the wall nearest to her. After her little episode earlier he wants to be closer to her, to observe her and see if her behavior changes at all again.

"So did I miss anything?" Wash says as he comes in and stands behind where Zoe is sitting.

"Nope, show's just about to start."

XXX

River's POV

She pauses and looks around to all the faces in the room. She takes a breath. "The girl will try to explain things as best she can, but often has difficulty expressing…she has brain damage that makes her speech patterns…irregular. Please bear with her."

"What kind of brain damage?" Mal asks.

"That will be explained in what the girl has to say."

When she receives a nod from each of the crew she continues on.

"Heroes and bogey men, values and dislikes, are first encountered and labeled in the early environment of childhood. In later years they change faces, places and maybe races, tactics, intensities and goals, but beneath those penetrable masks they wear forever the stocking-capped faces of childhood."

"The girl was always different. She could always hear things she was not meant to, see things she shouldn't, and know things that caused have caused her great pain. She did not choose this…talent…it was not something she asked for. But it is hard to ignore the talents that are bequeathed to us."

"However, not everyone looks at such talents as a gift. Her parents, in their gilded world of gold and ivory towers, saw these gifts as unacceptable. They saw her as an embarrassment, a failure. They sought to lock her up, far away from judgmental eyes. She was taken away…by force, by the hands of blue, the…Alliance." She says as she plays with her hands.

"They drilled into her skull; they played with needles in her brain. This was all in the name of science, in the name of creating the perfect weapon. They coveted the girl's gifts, they wished to mold Pandora from their clay."

"So you are tryin' to say you're some kind of freak of nature? Some gorram _feng le _weapon the Alliance created?" The ape man asks.

"Affirmative." She says with a nod.

"If that's true, how did you escape somethin' like that?" Mal asks skeptically.

"You are the embodiment of the information you choose to accept and act upon. To change your circumstances you need to change your thinking and subsequent actions." She answers.

"Meaning what… exactly?" Zoe asks.

"The girl became what they wanted me to be. But instead of Pandora, they opened her box, and unleashed something they did not expecy, they…amplified…the girl's talents, and gave her the tools to be their worst nightmare. The Iron Queen, the bringer of destruction. The girl did what she was made for, she….I….destroyed them."

"Then why wasn't this reported? It seems that something of this magnitude would have been reported, at least with a cover up of some sort."

That's when Book begins to fill in pieces for the girl. "Not something like this. The facility she was kept in was most likely top level security clearance, not many people would have known about it to begin with."

"And how would you know this?" Mal asks him.

"It's not hard to understand what they would want to keep any evidence of their greatest weapon on a strictly need to know basis." He replies while skirting the Captain's question. She knows why he did not bring up his own past as proof, and will respect his right to his secrets.

"Okay so you escaped from this government facility, killed a bunch of people, but how do we get from that to the tied up Fed currently sitting in my passenger dorms?" Mal says with growing frustration.

"In a fortuitous turn of events, the girl became acquainted with Riddick and Shepherd Book under…less than ideal circumstances, but they made the best of it." She says with a small chuckle. Book just shakes his head and Riddick does not say anything.

"Okay, but that doesn't explain the Fed." Mal reiterates.

"Girl fucked up on a little con job we pulled on Persephone." Riddick says behind her.

"Repetition is irksome, the girl knows she screwed up," she says as she turns to glare at him. "You do not have to remind her…_Richard_."

"Well maybe if you hadn't worn that piece cloth out, then _WE_ wouldn't be in this situation…_River." _He growls back.

"If you two could avoid killing each other for a little while longer it would be appreciated." Mal says trying to avoid the fight brewing.

The girl continues to glare but does not bait him further and turns back to the anxious captain. "Apologies, you still have questions."

"Yeah, chief among them is what kind a trouble I should expect from you three being on my boat."

"At the present time there is not enough available data to give an accurate answer. She is unaware as to reach of the warrant issued for her on Persephone. She also has a warrant for her arrest on Osiris. As far as Hermes and Orpheus go, they are presumed to be dead after the crash of the Hunter Gratzner." She says with nonchalance.

"What's the other warrant for? Being a pain in the ass?" Jayne asks somewhat rudely.

Silly man with girl's name…he really shouldn't ask questions when he won't like the answers. She smiles. "She murdered her parents."

"_Sao ni zuzong shiba dai!_ Now why the fuck would you go telling them that?" Riddick snaps.

"In the interest of full disclosure, and because the Captain presently has two warrants of his own for shooting related incidents, the man with a girl's name has three, and the pilot has a warrant as well."

"What do you mean Wash has one?" Mal looks towards Wash.

Zoe also looks up at her husband. "Baby, what is she talking about?"

Wash for his part holds up his hands in defense. "It was a misunderstanding with a man about some geese." He says nervously.

"Well ain't that just as pretty as _daxiang baozhashi de laduzi! _ We got a murdering psycho woman on board._"_ Jayne yells as he gets up from his seat.

"Jayne." Mal says in warning.

"What? Girl's likely to go wooly and murder us all in out sleep Capn'!"

"Negative, girl only deals retribution to those responsible for her torture. You have nothing to worry about man with a girl's name." She says with a smile.

"Girly if you say I have a girl's name one more time! I swear to God…"

"Watch it ape man." Riddick grumbles from his place behind the girl. He reeks of frustration at the man's idiocy. This is exactly why the girl told him not to bring any knives.

XXX

Riddick's POV

I really wish she would have let me bring my blades into this 'discussion.' She said it would be unnecessary. My ass it was unnecessary. The ape man is just asking to be sliced open.

"What are you gonna do about it? What happens in this world of yours if I don't watch it? Huh?"

I smirk and answer him in an even voice. "You want to find out?"

"76." River says.

The ape man looks at her in confusion now. "What did you say girly?"

"There are 76 different objects in this room that could be used by Riddick to inflict bodily harm to your person. The closest being a tea cup." She practically sings with glee.

"ENOUGH!" Mal says as he stands from his seat as he slams his hands onto the table top. "_Wo de ma he ta de fengkuang de waisheng dou!_ There will be no killin'of anyone right now! Understood?"

"The girl apologies for the threats."

I don't say anything but continue to glare at the merc.

"Jayne, sit down." Mal says as he glares daggers at the hired gun.

He grumbles but does as he's told. "They started it."

XXX

River pauses and looks around the room. "If no one has any more questions…"

"Hang on a minute, lil' bit. We ain't done here yet." Mal interjects. "There is still the issue of the fed tied up on this ship."

Zoe turns to Wash at this. "How much does the Alliance know?"

"I can't say. I killed the message pretty quick, so they might just have had our position." He says with a shrug.

"He tried to say they knew a whole mess of shit when I talked to him. Hell of a disappointin' interrogation. Man can't lie for shit, they got nothin' on us." Jayne says.

"So what is the issue?" River says as all eyes focus on her. "I thought he would be disposed of when…"

And again the room gets loud with people talking over each other...

"That's the first thing girly said that makes any sense." Jayne says with a laugh.

Zoe looks at him in disbelief. "Kill a Fed? Can you think of a stupider thing to do?"

"He can I.D. us all." Jayne replies.

"Can we maybe vote on the whole murdering people issue?" Wash says nervously raising his hand.

"We don't vote on my ship because my ship is not the rutting town hall!"

With a feral grin Riddick puts his two cents in. "Hell, I'll do it for you. It will be fun."

"Are you insane?" Inara asks in shock and disbelief.

"Prison shrinks seems to think so." He says with a shrug.

"This is crazy, Cap'..." Kaylee looks to him with puppy dog eyes.

"Nimen de bizui!" Mal screams and everyone becomes quiet. "Way it is…is the way it is. We got to deal with what's in front of us."

There is a tense moment when no one speaks and then Jayne asks what everyone wants to know.

"So what do we do?"

A moment passes as Mal thinks, looking at people around the dining room.

"The job. We finish the job. I got word from Patience, she's waiting for us. We circle 'round to Whitefall, make the deal, get out. Keep flying." He says as he exits the room, with River right on his heels.

XXX

River's POV

"The girl would like to offer assistance." She says. Everyone turns to where she stands in the doorway, not sure they heard her correctly.

He turns and looks at her puzzled. "_J__ien tah duh guay. _ Think you done enough already." He says as he turns to walk away again.

"Consider it an audition."

"An audition?" He says with confusion.

"River, what are you talking about?" Riddick says behind her.

"According to calculations based on observable scar tissue, your crew averages 4.2 bullet wounds, broken bones, and other injuries for every job that you undertake."

"Hey, he gets shot more than I do!" Jayne bellows.

"However, you greatly reduce said average to .65 bullet wounds if you factor in the presence of the girl and Riddick."

"River…" Riddick warns as he approaches behind her.

She doesn't bother to listen to Riddick though and continues addressing Mal. "Allow for a demonstration. Let the girl show you how she dances. You have nothing to lose and a lot to gain from this opportunity."

XXX

Mal stands in front of this tiny girl, who looks like she might just faint at the sight of a gun, and seriously considers her proposition.

Girl could be quite useful if half of what she said was true. "Fine." He says and walks towards the bridge.

"Didn't see that comin'." Jayne says in disbelief echoing the sentiments of everyone else in the room.

XXX

River's POV

She turns from the doorway back into the dining room to watch as Riddick stomps out the other doorway, the sound of metal walls absorbing fists can be heard in his wake. She huffs and shakes her head. That man needs to learn to trust the girl.

"Is he always like that?" Wash asks.

"Like a petulant child who doesn't get his way? Yes, he is." She answers.

"Okay, mental note to stay away from the big scary man when he looks pissed is dully noted." He says as he walks past her with Zoe towards the bridge where the Captain just went.

"Well this ought to be interstin" Jayne says as he glares at the girl and toward the bridge as well.

"Well…welcome aboard Serenity River." Kaylee says as she smiles sheepishly and skirts off towards the engine room. The girl can tell that she makes the sunshine nervous, but there is nothing she can do about that right now.

"You sure about this River?" Book asks.

She looks at Hermes now and smiles. "Affirmative. She is very sure Hermes."

"Excuse me but why does she call you that?" Inara asks from her seat at the table. She had been relatively quiet throughout the entire discussion, soaking in everything the girl said and revealing nothing, and the girl cannot help but feel she was trained well in her arts of seduction.

"It is a nickname. Hermes was the messenger of Greek gods, the patron god of shepherds, travelers, and cunning thieves." River says in a sign song voice.

Inara cannot help but laugh, and that is when her painted mask slips just enough for the girl to peek behind it. But what's behind the mask is confusing, and she can't make sense of it… it's like a melody that shouldn't be there. She looks at the companion a little more seriously now, but neither Book nor the companion seems to notice in their fit of laughter.

Through his chuckles Book manages to comment on the whole situation. "Well looks like we are exactly where we should be then."

XXX

"I ain't sure this is a good idea Mal." Jayne says. "They seem a might unstable."

"You and me both Jayne, but..." But before he can say anything else there is a noise coming from the console.

Wash turns his attention to the noise. "We're being hailed."

"That'd be Patience. We're close enough for vid. Put her up."

Wash pushes a few buttons and then the image of Patience pops up.

"Malcolm Reynolds?" She says.

Now Mal begins to turn on his charm, hoping to avoid unpleasantness from the woman."Hello, Patience."

"I have to say I didn't look to be hearing from you anytime soon." She says as she scratches her chin.

"Well, we may not have parted on the best of terms. I realize certain words were exchanged. Also, certain...bullets. But that's air through the engine. It's past. We're business people. Besides, your days of fightin' over salvage rights are long behind you, what I hear. What are you, mayor now?

"Just about. You telling the truth about that cargo? 'Cause your asking price is a bit too reasonable for that much treasure."

"It's imprinted - Alliance - hence the discount." He answers quickly.

"Oh, government goods, huh?"

"That doesn't work for ya, no harm. Just thought you could use…"

"Alliance don't scare me. Just collating data, as they say." She smirks now. "I like that you're up front about it. We can deal. I'll upload coordinates for a rendezvous point outside of town."

"See you in the world." Mal says as he closes the link. He stares down at the console for a moment.

"I believe that woman's planning to shoot me again." He says with a chuckle.

"She meant to pay you, she'd a haggled you down some." Jayne says nonchalantly.

Wash feels the need to say something now. "Just a little effort to hide it would've been…" But he is quieted by the sound of Mal's fist hitting something off the console.

But just as everyone thinks he is going to start yelling about getting shot or something of the sort he begins to laugh.

"Sir?" Zoe asks with some concern.

"Well, looks like that little witch is going to get the chance to give us one hell of a show." He says as he erupts into more laughter.

XXX

Riddick's POV

"_Nee ta ma duh. tyen-shia suoyo duh run doh gai si….__qingwa cào de liúmáng..." _I say as I repeatedly pound the punching bag in the cargo bay. But no matter how much or how hard I punch nothing makes me any less angry.

"Gorram woman thinks she can make all the decisions around here! I wasn't the one who got us ID'ed on Persephone, but does that change anything?" I say to no one in particular as I keep punching.

"NOOOO! Of course not. Doesn't make any fuckin' difference._…ta shi suoyou diyu de biaozi dema!"_

I hear a small chuckle from the upper walkway and turn and look up.

"You know talking to one's self is the first sign of mental illness…or problems with a female." She says as she walks down the stairs.

I grit my teeth and turn back to the punching bag. That's the thing about companions they always try and read the situation.

"I'm curious, if you are so irritated by her then why do you stay?"

"Why do you stay on Serenity? You didn't seem too pleased at being called a whore by the Captain earlier. So why do you put up with it?" I say as I round on her.

I can hear her pulse quicken just a few beats before she collects herself, never giving any change in emotion away. She's very good. "Mal's…interesting."

"I find that hard to believe." I say as I cross my arms and lean against the stairs.

"Anything becomes interesting if you look at it long enough."

Now I have known a fair amount of companions, but something just doesn't sit right with this one. There's something familiar about her… something hidden underneath that façade…

I shrug it off and just turn back towards the punching bag. I'm happy when I hear her walking back up the stairs. One woman and riddles is bad enough. I don't need to try and figure another one out. It doesn't take long though before I hear another set of faint footsteps creeping up the lower corridor, trying to be as quiet as possible. The smell of lavender gives her away though.

"Already know your there girly." I say without stopping my assault on the bag.

"She was letting the music calm before she approached." She says as she steps into the cargo bay.

I turn to face her now. "I have every right to be fucking pissed off at you, you know that."

"The girl has reasons for…"

"No fuck that!" I scream and walk towards her. But she doesn't move away.

"You are keeping shit from me, like what that whole breakdown was earlier! You're fucking making decisions about what WE do without MY input, and for what? An opportunity? I'm sorry sweetheart but I'm gonna need more of an explanation than that!"

XXX

River's POV

There's music swelling around her now; leaching out from her every pore. She wishes he could hear it…it would explain so much.

"The girl thinks they can help…help find something that was taken from the girl."

…_**There's truth in your lies  
**__**doubt in your faith  
**__**All I've got's what you didn't take…**_

"She is damaged, she knows this, knows the Alliance has stolen a great deal from her..."

…_**So I, I won't be the one  
**__**be the one to leave this  
**__**In pieces…**_

"Every morning the girl jumps out of bed and steps on a landmine. The landmine is…me. After the explosion, she spends the rest of the day putting the pieces together. But there are always missing pieces, there is never a big picture...it's always incomplete."

…_**And you / you will be alone  
**__**alone with all your secrets  
**__**and regrets, don't lie…**_

"But out of the fragments she has, a few of them show her something is here, it's what she sees when she closes her eyes, these faces are familiar. So if you want to leave…go….but she can't."

…_**So I, I won't be the one  
**__**be the one to leave this  
**__**In pieces…**_

They don't move for a good five minutes. She doesn't try and persuade him to stay; it would only prove counter intuitive. He has to come to this decision without her words.

…_**And you / you will be alone  
**__**alone with all your secrets  
**__**and regrets, don't lie…**_

It's only when the Captain's voice announces they are preparing to land that he answers her.

"You better be right about this." He says as he turns and walks out of the cargo bay.

She lets out a breath. "She is."

XXX

AN: Okay, I have to say this was one of the harder chapters to write. I ended up throwing out my original outline when a rabid plot bunny chewed on my brain a few days ago and I realized that this chapter needed a huge overhaul if I wanted to use that particular idea in the long run. I hope you guys like the way it turned out =) Till next time.


	20. Ch 19 Danse Macabre and Furious Angels

AN: Thank you for all the wonderful reviews and support. It really means a lot that people take the time to read this story. This is probably one of the longer updates that I have written thus far, and I am hoping to keep this trend up on some of the more meatier episodes coming up. This update would have been posted sooner, but I re-read it before I was going to post it and was not liking what I had written, so it got delayed a bit. Hope you guys enjoy =)

Chapter 19 Danse Macabre and Furious Angels

XXX

Riddick's POV

It doesn't make sense that she could want to stay on this damn boat after being on it for less than a day. I mean, what the gorram hell is so special about this place or these people. The Captain's annoying…the mechanic's naïve…the merc is just stupid.

I open the door to the bunk we had our stuff in and curse my luck as I see the preacher look up at me from where he sits on the bed reading a book.

"Lover's quarrel?" He asks as I slam the door shut.

I don't say anything and move to one of the duffels that holds the weapons. I open and begin laying out some of the things we might need for this little job the girl seems hell bent on helping on. Far be it for me to pass up a bit of violence.

"You don't trust her do you?" He asks from behind me.

I tuck a few throwing knives into my cargo pants. "With a life like mine, you don't trust many people Shepherd."

"It's just interesting you wouldn't trust her…you acknowledge her skill, you lust after her…but you do not trust her."

Man is just all kinds of irritating. "You got a point?"

"He who does not trust enough, Will not be trusted."

I shake my head at the idea. "Trust is what gets you killed preacher."

"You know that isn't always the case. And do you really think she would betray you? You are so alike it would be as if she betrayed herself."

"You really think that would stop her if it came down to it?" I challenge. "I don't trust anyone…not even myself."

"Then I feel sorry for you."

He gets up and leaves the room as River walks in. She goes over and sits down on the bed, pulling her legs up in front of her and hugging her knees.

"Do you really think she would betray you?" She asks after a minute of silence.

"Wouldn't be the first time someone has."

"Not the…me." She pauses. "…I… wish I could give you reassurance. But words are not sufficient in dealing with an issue such as this."

I look up at her now. "So what are we supposed to do?"

"Give her a month. If all goes according to the girl's plan, the Captain will offer us employment. Give the girl a month to look for the answers she thinks she can find here. If after a month she has not, she will leave with you."

"Why would you?"

"Because…I trust you."

"…Fine, one month."

XXX

When the doors to the cargo bay open, Mal and Zoe are greeted with the familiar site of desert. Nothing but woody shrubs, cactus, weeds, and some hills to the east. They stand there for moment and just take in the landscape before them. They are here earlier than the time Patience specified to hid the goods and stake out the area.

It's when Zoe clears her throat that Mal knows she has something to say.

"You got something to say Zo' you might as well say it."

"Sir, are you sure that taking them on the job is the best idea? I mean Jayne has a point…and I never thought I would be saying that."

Mal turns and looks at her, sees the concern on her face and can't help but feel a might concerned as well.

"Do you remember how Jayne got on this boat Zoe?" He is answered with a chuckle and a nod.

"Sometimes we get lucky and things work out."

And with that they walk down the ramp with Jayne on the mule lugging the box of stolen goods not far behind.

XXX

River's POV

Her head is swimming with excitement. It has been so long since she has had a proper place to show off her talents and this job promises to be a very 'fun' display. She wishes everyone else could hear the music she is making right now, her beautiful Danse Macabre. She twirls a little as she walks through the hallways.

"What kind of music am I playing today?" Orpheus asks as he looks at her jump to and fro.

"Today it is not his music the girl listens to, but her own. She is playing her fiddle and is calling forth for a dance of death." She practically sings as she stretches into an arabesque.

Riddick merely smirks and watches her twirl.

The dancer and Riddick finally make their way out and meet the warrior woman and the captain just outside the cargo bay. They are studying the coordinates they were given for the meet while the ape man buries the treasure…X marks the spot.

"May she have a look?" She enquires as she approaches the pair.

Mal looks at her with skeptical eyes but she gives him her best innocent smile. "They lead to a small valley to the east about two klicks away." He says as he hands over the map and the coordinates.

"Looks like a nice place for an ambush."

"It is." Riddick says studying the map and then the landscape in front of him.

She hands back the coordinates to Mal and then starts walking towards the meeting location.

"Where do you think you are going?" Mal says with surprise.

"Further calculations are needed before the scheduled meeting in four hours. She would like to do a little reconnaissance. She and the Riddick will be back in one hour, well before any snipers are in position… That is, if it's alright with you Captain." She says ever so sweetly.

He studies her for a moment then relents. "Alright, but make sure you ain't seen. Don't want Patience to think we're setting up a double cross." He says as he retreats back into the cargo bay.

Zoe gives her a discerning eye and the girl knows she does not trust her...but will not go against what the Captain says. She also goes back into the cargo bay.

With that River turns and begins walking towards the small valley, Riddick right on her heels. They pass Jayne coming back on the mule as they go.

"Where do you think you two are goin'?" He says as he looks back at them.

She does not bother to look back. "To bury something in the sand!"

She can hear the ape man's mind trying to decipher her words but he comes up short. Riddick just chuckles as he walks beside her.

XXX

Riddick's POV

After about twenty minutes of walking we are greeted by the sight of a small valley. I can see her mind whirling with activity, studying the scene before her and how she thinks will play out.

"Ground reached through narrow gorges, retreated from by twisting paths…is enclosed."

She smiles. "You know your Sun-tzu." She says with a smile.

"Doesn't everyone?" I ask. She just smiles wider. Damn girl can piss me off to no end, but when she smiles like that at me it makes her a little more tolerable.

XXX

River's POV

"Exploit the enemy's unpreparedness; attack him unawares; take an unexpected route…If we were to plant the flash grenades we purchased on Persephone in front of the advancing enemy, they would be momentarily blinded, giving us a 1.4 minute advantage." She says as she walks closer to the clearing in the center of the small valley.

"Is that enough time to do anything useful though?" Orpheus asks.

"Depends on what we do with it."

She closes her eyes and watches the calculations. It as if everything speeds up and she can see the numbers and figures flood her mind.

"Each grenade has 4.5 grams of magnesium/ ammonium nitrate yielding a 1.5 meter blast radius. If we were to place the grenades half a meter apart we should create the desired dust cloud. The biggest concern is how we rig the grenades to explode in unison." She says as she turns to look at him for suggestions.

"I put money the ape man has some longer fuses we could string together." Riddick says as he bends down to look at the sand.

"Probable, but the likelihood that he would assist the pair with their plan is less than ideal after our earlier encounter."

"Why don't we just tell him? Hell he's getting paid on this job…we aren't."

She pauses to consider his words. "That is true. If we appeal to his desire to receive payment, he could be more cooperative."

XXX

About twenty minutes later both River and Riddick stroll into the cargo bay of Serenity, finding one hired gun preparing the ear pieces for the job. When he hears them walk on board he looks less than pleased.

"Thought you two were going to bury your heads in the sand or something."

"Neither Riddick or the girl possesses the necessary neck length to accomplish such a feet." River says as she approaches where Jayne is sitting and seats herself.

He looks up at the pair then back to his work. "You got something to say, say it fast…I'm workin'."

"You wouldn't happen to have any blasting fuses would you? One's we could remotely detonate?"

Now this gets Jayne's attention and he turns to look at the two. "What do you want with it?" He asks warily.

"Girly here seems to think we need to set up a little distraction for the meet later." Riddick states evenly.

"We plan on stringing flash grenades together but lack the necessary components to manufacture the remote detonation. Hence we ask if you have said components."

"Why should I help you two? Seems to me you two were the ones threaten 'bodily harm' to me earlier."

"The girl apologies for earlier actions, and promises to try and avoid further confrontation. If the man they call Jayne does not wish to assist us that is fine, we are not being paid for our services, we just thought you might like the increased percentage of success said services would bring."

"Huh?" Jayne says in confusion.

"She means you're more likely to get paid if we help."

"Affirmative. 87 percent chance of success versus 17 percent without our assistance."

"Well why didn't you just say that! Hell I got some remote crap you can use." He says as he gets up and walks towards one of the side compartments in the cargo bay.

"Told you he'd help if it means he's more likely to get paid." Riddick says with a chuckle.

XXX

…About three hours later…

River, Riddick, Jayne, Zoe, and Mal all stand around the cargo bay of Serenity, looking over the topographical coordinates while Jayne hands earpieces to the group. He puts his in and proceeds to test it.

"Testing. Testing, Captain, can you hear me?"

Mal just rolls his eyes and deadpans his answer. "I'm standing right here."

"You're coming through good and loud." Jayne says as he adjusts his ear piece.

Now everyone else just shakes their heads at the merc. "'Cause I'm standing right here." Mal says again.

That's when Jayne looks around a little sheepishly. "Yeah, well... but the transmitter's..."

"Anyways." Zoe says. "What do you think Sir?" She looks over at Mal, who is studying the map intently.

"All right. Patience is gonna figure we buried the cargo. Which means means putting us to our ease 'fore there's any action. She'll come at us from the east," he says pointing at the narrowing in the valley. "Talk the location out of us. She'll have the coin to show us first. We get it, give the location, snipers hit us from...there…. and there." He points at two higher locations in the hills that flank the valley.

"You figure they're in place yet?" Riddick asks.

"This close to the meetin' time…Should be. You and Jayne feel like taking a walk around the park?"

That's when Jayne's mouth gets the better of him. "Sure you don't just wanna piss yourself and back down like you did with Badger?" He chuckles.

Mal stares at him 'til he stops. "Walk soft. I want Patience thinking they're still in place. Don't kill anyone if you don't have to. We're here to make a deal."

"Come on funny man, we got some snipers to look for." Riddick says as he moves out the cargo bay.

XXX

River's POV

They take off and Mal looks at them a little worried. "They aren't gonna kill each other out there are they?" He questions the girl.

"Negative. An understanding has been reached. Neither will provoke the other for the time being."

He still looks a little concerned. "That's good...I think." Mal says.

"I still don't think it's a good spot, sir. She still has the advantage over us." Zoe says drawing Mal's attention back to the map.

"Everyone always does." He says turning back to her, smiling. "That's what makes us special."

"Actually, we have tactical advantage now." The girl chimes in, smirking slightly.

"How do you figure that?" The warrior woman asks.

"She doesn't want to give away the surprise; it should be quite a show." She says as she twirls around, a smile plastered to her face.

Mal looks more than a little worried. "Well ain't that just a bit creepifing."

XXX

…Meanwhile…

The last of the duct tape finally gives way and Dobson flexes his fingers to get some of the blood flow back. He goes over to his suitcase and opens it, digs in and grabs his portable cortex and turns it on. The screen flashes to life and he clicks on central mainframe icon.

CONNECT TO CENTRAL CORTEX pops up onto the screen and he hits it in frustration. He waits, and then it flashes INTERFERENCE: UNABLE TO CONNECT.

Furious, he hurls the computer against the wall, smashing it. Reaching into the bottom of his suitcase he pulls out one gun and then another.

XXX

Riddick's POV

I have to say I am truly surprised at the ineptitude of hired help today. I mean you think a sniper would have his ears pricked for trouble. Instead I find the _sha gwa _with fuckin' earphones in for some portable music player. I mean really, you think they would try and act a little professional. I guess it's just hard to find good help these days.

I relieve the sniper of his weapon. "Riddick, it's Jayne, you read me?"

"Loud and clear. You find your mark?"

"Idiot didn't even hear me comin', had a nice piece of hardware though. Thinkin' it looks like a Candy."

"You name your weapons?" I ask with a chuckle.

"What? They do by right by me, they deserve a name."

"If you say so."

XXX

"Will you both _bee-jwa_." Mal grunts into his com. "Don't want to give nothin' away."

Mal, Zoe, and River are all standing in the clearing that River and Riddick scoped out earlier, waiting for Patience and her crew to arrive.

They don't have to wait long before they see Patience and her crew of six - as they come through the narrow run off on horseback - all but one, who drives a mule like the one on Serenity.

"Showtime." River says with a smirk.

XXX

River's POV

"Ah!" Patience chuckles. "Mal! How you doin', boy?"

"Walkin' and talkin'."

"Is that Zoe? You still sailin' with this old bum? Who's the little bit you got with ya?"

"Niece of mine, just helpin' out for the time being." Mal says.

"…_**So…never would have pegged him for the family type…"**_

"Awful lot of men to haul three crates." Zoe eyes the group skeptically.

"…_**She's hiding something…"**_

"Yeah, well, I couldn't be sure my Mal here wouldn't be lookin' for some kinda payback. You understand."

"…_**And the idiot wouldn't recognize a setup if he saw one…"**_

"We're just on the job, Patience. Not interested in surprises."

"_**I really hope the lil' bit was right about not getting shot…"**_

"She lies." The girl whispers under her breath.

"What was that she said?" Patience asks.

"She said you're nice." Mal says as he glances over at the girl.

"Uh-huh…I don't see my cargo anywhere..."

"And you're not gonna, 'til I'm holding my two thousand in platinum."

She looks a little more cross now. "Oh, come on, Reynolds. I'm supposed to take it on faith you've got the goods?"

Mal pulls out the bar from inside his duster and tosses it to Patience.

"It's pure, Patience. Genuine A-grade foodstuffs. Protein, vitamins, immunization supplements. One of those'll feed a family for a month. Longer, if they don't like their kids too well."

She rips the foil off to reveal those awful energy bars she was force fed at the Academy. The girl cannot help but crinkle her nose as she takes a nibble of it.

"Yeah, that's the stuff." She hands the bar to her the man next to her and pulls a small bag from her pocket, which she tosses to Mal. "So where's the rest?"

XXX

…Meanwhile back at Serenity…

Kaylee is tinkering around the engine room when she hears a noise behind her. She turns around to find Dobson standing there with a gun pointed at her.

"You and I are going for a little walk girly." He says as he moves to grab her arm. "Make so much as a sound, and I promise the next bullet won't miss."

All she can do is look at him with genuine horror.

XXX

River's POV

"Then east half a mile, bottom of the first hill. You'll see where it's been dug." Mal tell Patience.

"I reckon I will."

"…_**Now turn around like a good boy Mal so I can shoot...again…"**_

"Well then."

"Yep."

"I'd appreciate it y'all turn around and ride out first." Mal says hopefully.

"Well, you see, there's a kind of hitch."

And that's when the girl decides to raise the curtain and dance. "River wants a big boom," whispers into her comm as she pushes the trigger in her pocket.

"What?" Mal says. He barely has time to look at her before there are a series blasts from the buried grenades and the area is filled with dust.

The girl grabs both the Captain and the warrior woman and hauls them behind some nearby rocks.

"_Liu kuoshui de biaozi he houzi de ben erzi! _WHAT THE BLOODY HELL WAS THAT" Patience and her men are now firing around wildly and Mal ducks down to avoid any lucky shots.

"The opening act." River says with mirth.

"You and I are going to have a serious talk when this is over." He says as he pulls out his gun.

She just rolls her eyes and un-holsters her own guns. "Yes Captain Daddy."

XXX

Riddick's POV

"That would be our cue Jayne." I say into the com as I find my first target.

"Ain't got to tell me twice." He says as I hear the sound of his sniper rifle through the com.

XXX

Book is walking towards the bridge when he sees Dobson dragging Kaylee at gunpoint towards the cargo bay. He runs up the stairs to the bridge two at a time.

"Dobson just took Kaylee!" He yells as he runs back out in the direction Dobson was taking Kaylee.

Wash is about to as well, but there is a beeping - a proximity warning. He stops, looks at his screen.

"Oh, don't. Don't you dare!"

XXX

Jayne and Riddick managed to pick off three of the men on horseback during the confusion due to their elevated position, which gave them a clear view despite the dust in the air. One of the last on horseback and the man on the mule ride off as fast as they can while Jayne fires after them. He looks up from his scope when the last one makes it around the corner and out of his sights. "_Hwin dan_!" he yells.

Now it's just Patience and the one other. Zoe takes aim and hits the last man in the stomach and he falls off his horse with a sickening thud.

That just leaves Patience, who has gotten off her horse and has her shotgun propped on the saddle, using her horse for cover.

Mal stands; no longer taking cover.

"Mal, don't you take another step…"

He doesn't listen though and fires at the horse, which rears and then falls half on top of her. He stalks forward, shoves his gun right up in Patience's face.

"Now I did a job. I got nothing but trouble since I did it, not to mention more than a few unkind words as regard to my character so let me make this abundantly clear. I do the job and get paid without any hassle."

He moves his gun from her face. "Go run your little world."

XXX

Riddick's POV

I can already see this is going to go the girls head. But I have to admit, she did plan it very well. I just won't be telling or thinking that around her. I move the scope to look at her as she comes out from behind cover, but what I see wipes any smirk I had right off my face.

The girl looks like she's seen a ghost and is starting to pale.

Shit. And with that I grab the sniper rifle and start running towards her as I hear the pilot come over the com.

"The Reavers followed us!"

I get to River and the other's about the same time Jayne does. Like me, he is slightly out of breath.

"Mal! It's Wash! We got a ship coming in. They followed us. The gorram Reavers followed us!"

"Back to the ship!" He yells as he runs towards the horses left from the dead men.

"What's wrong with her?" Mal asks as I gather River up.

"Hell if I know. You can ask her about it later!" I say as I haul her up onto the saddle of a horse with me.

XXX

…Back at Serenity…

Book runs out onto the upper landing and sees Dobson with Kaylee below, his grip on her loose right now as he looks around him, heading for the closed airlock. He hits the release button and the cargo bay doors start opening.

"Kaylee!" Book yells.

This gets Dobson's attention and he fires towards Book, who takes cover in behind the metal door frame.

"Move and I shoot the girl!" Dobson yells up to him. Book doesn't move.

"What do you think you're doing lawman? She has no part in this!" Book yells down.

"I have a job to do. To uphold the law… that's what we're talking about here. I'm going to trade this girl for the other one. I think the Captain is more than likely to make that trade, seeing as little Kaylee here is a member of his crew."

Wash's voice comes on over the speakers now. "We are air born in one minute!"

XXX

Mal, Zoe, Jayne, and Riddick are riding as fast as they can towards Serenity. Riddick just holds onto River as she sits against him unconscious.

XXX

…Reality Shifts…

She looks around her, nothing but the desolate streets of an unknown city. There is a quietness that is unnatural. And then like a flood of water…it hits her…

…_**Like a sentence to death**_

_**I've got no options left…**_

"_Run-tse duh shang-dee, ching dai-wuhtzo..._ make them stop!" She screams to herself.

…_**I've got nothing to show now…**_

_**And you can't go now…**_

They're everywhere. Every building, every... every room; they're all inside her mind!

_**...I'm down on the ground**_

_**I've got seconds to live…**_

The girl can hear them… all of them….and they're saying... NOTHING! She crumples to the floor, holding her head between her hands and begins rocking back and forth.

…_**Cause love, like an invisible bullet has shot me down and I'm bleeding - yeah,  
I'm bleeding…**_

"STOP! Please STOP!" She screams at the voices.

…_**And if you go, furious angels will bring you back to me…**_

"Wuo-shang mayer, maysheen byen shr-to. Please God, make me a stone."

…Reality Shifts Again…

XXX

The airlock is completely open now and Dobson begins to pull Kaylee outside. Book moves from behind the doorway and begins to run down the stairs.

Dobson fires towards Book who ducks for cover behind some crates. Hearing the gunshot Inara comes out from her shuttle.

"I'm not playing anymore." Dobson yells.

As if on cue, Mal and the others ride up to Serenity at this moment. Mal stops dead in his tracks as he sees the Fed has a gun to Kaylee's head.

"Stop right there Captain!" Dobson yells as he turns to face Mal, who stops and raises his hands.

"Anybody makes so much as a…" But that's all he has time to get out before a throwing knife lands in his right eye. He crumples to the ground and Kaylee jerks out of his grasp and runs towards Inara who is coming down the stairs.

Mal looks behind him to see Jayne and Zoe staring speechless at Riddick, who is not only holding River, but just managed to make a near impossible kill.

"What?" He says as he walks up the ramp. "Told you I would do it for you." He says passing Mal.

Mal looks amazed and horrified. "_Ai ya! hwai leh!_." He says as he checks to see that Dobson is indeed dead. Satisfied that he is he stands up. "Jayne!"

Jayne jogs up beside Mal and the pick him up like a rag doll.

"Wash we're on!" Zoe says into the comm. She then hits a button near the comm and the cargo bay doors begin to close.

Mal and Jayne proceed to run Dobson across the cargo bay and tossing him off the closing ramp. Jayne and Mal run back in, narrowly missing the closing airlock doors.

XXX

Riddick's POV

I pass the shepherd on the way to the infirmary with River. He looks from me to her and then begins to follow me.

"What happened?" He asks with concern.

"Girl went catatonic out there." I say as I lay her down on the table in the middle of the room. "Happened about the same time Wash said the Reavers followed us."

"You think they caused this?" He asks as he looks through the cabinets for something that might help.

"This shit happened earlier when the Reaver ship passed us. Girl just shut down then too."

He brings over a blanket and proceeds to put it around her. "This can't be good." He says as he looks at her unconscious form.

"No shit Sherlock."

XXX

Mal and Zoe run up to the bridge with Jayne close behind them. Wash is already strapped in and maneuvering away from the Reavers.

"How close are they?" Mal says as he looks at the screens.

"About twenty seconds from spitting distance."

"Well, lose 'em!" Jayne yells a little out of breath.

Mal turns to Zoe. "Give me rear vid."

She turns and punches a few buttons to bring up the feed. They see the ship approaching from behind. "_Ai ya, women wanle_." She says.

"C'mon, Wash, you dumbass, dodge 'em!" Jayne says from behind the pilot.

"If everybody could just be quiet a moment..." Wash says incredibly calm like. He veers hard.

"I need Kaylee in the engine room please." He says.

"Kaylee get your ass to the engine room now!" Mal screams into the comm. "Jayne! Go help her!" He says turning to the merc who then runs from the room. He turns back to Wash. "How we doing?"

In a rather droll voice Wash responds. "I don't mean to alarm anybody... but I think... we're being followed."

XXX

Riddick's POV

I'm standing next to River when I see Jayne and Kaylee both running towards the engine room. Book turns and looks at River and then out the door.

"I think I can help Kaylee out." He says as he turns and walks out the door past the companion who is entering the infirmary.

"What happened?" She asks me.

"Question of the day." I mutter as I dab the sweat from River's head. "We're all gonna have to ask her when she wakes up."

XXX

Wash's voice booms out over the comm in the engine room. "Kaylee, how we doing?"

"Ready when you are Wash." She says in response. "You thinkin' about an Ivan?"

"Not just yet, but set it up." Is his response.

"Okay, Jayne I need you to pull on this when I give you the word." She says as she points the merc to a large lever.

She turns to Book now. "You know where the press regulator is?"

He looks about, heads to a part of the engine, points at a panel and Kaylee smiles. "Head of the class. Now when I cut the hydraulics I need you to reset the press regulator."

XXX

…Back on the bridge…

Zoe watches the Reaver ship out of a porthole. "They're on us."

Wash grabs the com, "Kaylee you ready?"

"As we'll ever be." She answers back.

"Everybody hold on to something." Wash says. "Here's something you can't do..." he says softly as if talking to the Reavers.

He slams down a lever and there is a squeal as Serenity lurches into a perfect one-eighty, spinning on a dime. He then flips the lever again and Serenity is now flying straight towards the Reaver ship, which it dodges at the last second.

"NOW!" Wash yells into the comm.

XXX

…Reality Shifts…

She's strapped to a metal gurney. The medical overhead light is blinding and she has to squint.

She can't see anyone but she can hear them scurrying around.

…_**You're a dirty needle**_

_**You're in my blood and there's no curing me…**_

"Subjects One, Two, and Three were exposed to the compound with moderate success before further experimentation killed them… So we will be trying multiple doses on Subject Zero," says the disembodied voice of Dr. Mathais.

…_**And I want to run**_

_**(like the blood from a wound)**_

_**To a place you can't see me…**_

She hears his voice again and squints to try and see around her. "Prep Subject Zero for exposure to the G-23 Paxilon Hydrochlorate." And then she feels hands holding her down even though she is already strapped down.

_**...You're a cold piece of steel between my ribs and there's no saving me**_

_**And I can't get up from this wet crimson bed that you made for me…**_

She feels a needle being jabbed into her skull, feels the cool liquid being pushed into her brain matter.

…_**Cause I can't get up**_

_**I'm as cold as a stove**_

_**I can feel the life fade from me…**_

And then she feels as if her head is in a vice, as if they are trying to crush her skull. Her vision begins to blur and her entire body seize violently…

…_**I'm down on the ground**_

_**I've got seconds to live**_

_**Then what's there that waits for me?...**_

"…SHES CRASHING!...Prep…"

She can barely register what's being said around her now. She closes her eyes and prays for it to be over.

"…NO!" We are finishing… inject her again…"

And she feels another needle jabbed into her skull and a moment later her body relaxes and she opens her eyes.

…_**Cause love, like a sentence of death has left me stunned, and I'm reeling - yeah, I'm reeling**_

_**And if you go, furious angels will bring you back to me…**_

"…We did it..."

…Reality Shifts Again…

XXX

Riddick's POV

River begins to violently shake, and it takes a fair amount of strength for me to hold her on the table.

"Find a smoother!" I yell at Inara who is already frantically searching the cabinets for some kind of drug to give River.

"What the hell did they do to her?" She asks in horror as she injects the clear liquid into River's arm.

"I don't know, but I intend to find the fuck out!" I growl as I watch her body slowly start to relax after the smoother hits her bloodstream.

XXX

As Kaylee cuts the hydraulics Book hits the button to reset the system and Jayne pulls on a lever, causing the engine to suddenly turn faster, and it glows a bright orange.

XXX

After a few tense moments of Wash pulling up at the controls with all his might he finally eases off, quietly pleased.

Mal and Zoe are kind of amazed.

"Knew I hired you for somethin'." Mal says as he claps Wash on the back.

There are audible woops of joy from the engine room over the com, and wash moves to cut the link. Zoe leans over the back of Wash's chair, visibly relieved.

Wash turns and looks at Mal. "We should have just enough left in us to hit a fuel station. We'll need to do some patching up. I hope we got paid today."

"We did. Lil' bit proved might useful before she went all wooly."

Zoe exchanges a look with Wash. "Sir? I'd like you to take the helm, please." She then proceeds to pull Wash out of his chair. "I need this man to tear all my clothes off."

Mal says nothing, just smiles and indicates the way out.

"Work, work, work..." He says as he leaves the bridge.

And Mal throws himself down into the pilot's seat. Let's out a breath he's been holding for about two days and starts flying. Jayne enters a few minutes later.

"Well I got to say, she wasn't half bad." He says as he seats himself in the other chair.

"Do my ears deceive me or is that praise I hear comin' from Jayne Cobb?" He says with amusement.

"Only givin' credit where it's due." He says with a shrug. He pauses before he continues with what he has to say. "The lawman said they'd keep looking for her. Something about her brain being all special. Important to the Alliance brass."

"After what I saw today I suppose so."

Neither of them says anything for a good while, until Mal breaks the silence.

"Funny how the lawman got out of his room. You having tied him up so well and all."

"I didn't have nothing to do with that. Anyway it all turned out just fine. Buzzards're the only ones gonna find him..."

"But he did try to make a deal with you, right?" He looks at Jayne, who says nothing.

"How come you didn't turn on me, Jayne?"

Jayne doesn't answer for a good while. "Money wasn't good enough."

Mal turns and looks at him. "What happens when it is?"

Jayne smiles and gets up to leave. "Well... that'll be an interesting day."

Mal turns back to flying. "Imagine it will." He says to himself.

XXX

…Sometime later…

Riddick's POV

I'm standing over a still sleeping River when the Captain comes in some time later.

"How's she doing?" He asks.

"The companion gave her a smoother about two hours ago; I figure she'll sleep for another few hours or so."

He comes up and stands on the other side of the table and looks down at her, studying her.

"Well she sure as hell did give me quite a show." He says as he moves to stand against the counter.

I chuckle and shake my head, in complete agreement with the man. He stands there for a few more minutes before he says anything else.

"If the Alliance is after her as bad as she says, you're probably safer on the move. And we never stop moving."

I don't bother looking up at him, just shake my head a little. Can already hear her saying I told you so in my head.

"What's the cut?" I say. If the man wants to talk business might as well cut to the chase.

"10 percent each to start. You can have your own rooms and…"

"We only need one." I say.

And this is where he decides to get all protective of the girl he wasn't too happy to have on his boat to begin with. "Is that so?"

"She will tell you the same thing when she wakes up if you don't believe me." I grit out.

"I got a rule against shipboard romances."

"Then how come your first mate and pilot are married?"

"Zoe was with me in the war…only time she every challenged my authority was when I said she couldn't marry Wash. She told me to go to hell and said either they got hitched or she left."

I chuckle "Are you always this sentimental?"

He laughs at this and moves to leave the infirmary. "I had a good day…Let me know when she wakes up." And with that he leaves.

XXX

AN: Hope you guys enjoyed the update. Ffeedback is always appreciated…Till next time =)


	21. Ch20 Captain DaddyCloser& Lux Aeterna

AN: Thank you everyone for the great reviews. I am really happy that everyone responded really well to the plot twists I threw into the last chapter. This update is going to be shorter than the last few; I'm camping this week but wanted to post at least a little something for you guys. Hope you enjoy. As always, I own nothing, please don't sue me.

Chapter 20 Captain Daddy, Closer, and Lux Aeterna

XXX

River's POV

She wakes up to the blinding light of Serenity's infirmary. It takes a moment for her vision to clear, but once it does she sits up and looks around. Seated in the corner is Riddick, reading a gun magazine with his feet propped against the table.

"Bout time you decided to wake up." He says without looking up at her.

"How long was she out?" She asks as she swings her legs over the side of the table.

He gets up from his seat and moves to stand in front of her, arms crossed. You think the man could at least give her a few minutes before he starts drilling into her for answers, but obviously that is not going to be the case.

"Five hours. Had to give you a smoother at one point you were seizing so bad." He says evenly. "What the fuck was that River."

She looks up at him through her veil of hair, her last shred of armor, but it isn't much.

"Proximity to known weakness." She says timidly. She hates admitting it, hates that something is capable of breaking her.

"Weakness?"

She takes a breath, steadying her nerves. "The girl cannot explain why it is that close proximity to Reavers causes her to become…inoperable. She just knows that they are the catalyst. She believes it is due to a sensory overload from their neural transmissions, but is not completely sure."

"Isn't there a way to block that shit out?"

"She is unsure, the girl is not completely knowledgeable about what was done to her by the hands of blue…without her medical files from the facility there is no way to tell if said damage is repairable or can be further altered to…make her less defective. She was planning on asking Hermes to wave some of his old contacts to see if they could find anything."

"So…what the fuck do you suggest I do if that happens again before you find your files?" He asks with anger and concern evident. His head sings of violence and revenge for the ones who did this to her; it's beautiful.

She smiles a little and jumps up to wrap her arms around his torso. He is a little taken aback at the gesture, as if he has never received a hug in gratitude before, and kind of stands there unsure as to what to do.

"Nothing, just be there when she wakes up." He puts his hands around her and relaxes into the hug a little.

XXX

Riddick's POV

The girl lets go of me and returns to seat herself on the table. There is not a huge smile plastered on her face and I have a feeling I know why.

"I'm _**not **_gonna say it River."

"You don't have to, she's a reader remember?" She says with smug satisfaction.

I still don't say it though. I'm not gonna inflate her ego any more that it is. "Careful, your head gets any bigger you won't fit through the door."

"You're one to talk Mr. I'm the most badass motherfucker in the verse." She says in mimicking my intonation.

I want to throw something in frustration when she does that, but it reminds me of a piece of unsettled business. "Well I did put a point on my side of the board."

Her smile darkens at this. "It should not count. The girl did not have an opportunity to make the kill herself." She says as she folds her arms and glares at me.

"A kill's a kill remember? I seem to remember you being ever so proud of stealing Johns from me."

She glares at me for a moment before she concedes. "Fine." She grits out. "But I was still right about Captain Daddy offering…"

Hang on a second… "Captain Daddy?"

"His protective nature of his crew makes him like the father of all the gods on Mount Olympus. He rules with authority, but is still fallible. Hence Captain Daddy is a suitable nickname."

See this doesn't sit too well with me. "I don't like it."

"Too bad."

I don't have time to protest any before the Captain walks in though. Goddam reader probably did that on purpose to piss me off.

"So you're awake lil' bit?" He says as he steps into the infirmary.

"Affirmative."

"So you and I need to have a talk about some things." He says with sternness.

She smiles at him with a shit eating grin I would love to wipe of her face. "Yes Captain Daddy."

I have to say though, the look of shock and horror on that Mal gives her is priceless. This just makes her erupt into laughter.

"Captain Daddy?"

Her laughter dies down enough for her to answer him. "You act like a protective father…tries to take a serious tone to convey authority and scold the girl for her surprise."

"Well you blew up a string of grenades in front of my face! What am I supposed to do?"

She looks at him with puppy dog eyes now. "Thank her with chocolate or apples?"

"Like hell I'm not."

And that's when her features take on a stormy quality, and I can smell cloves. Poor Mal doesn't even know what he did.

"Then maybe the girl will allow you to be shot next time. After all, she can influence the probability of being shot either way." She says with a feral grin.

Mal immediately concedes after her not so veiled threat. "Alright chocolate or apples, I heard ya, ya damn lil' witch."

I shake my head at how easily she manipulates him. It is funny how damn scary she can be when she wants something.

"Anyways, you wished to discuss an employment opportunity with the girl. She takes it you found her audition satisfactory?"

Again he slips into the role of a scolding father. "Would have appreciated a warning you were plannin' on blowin' shit up in front of me."

"Repetition is irksome Malcolm." She says in warning.

"I heard ya, I heard ya,…I didn't get shot, so…I guess I can overlook that little surprise of yours."

Her frown turns into a beaming smile now. "Excellent."

"I told Riddick you could both have ten percent to start and your own bunks. He seemed to think you wouldn't…"

"He is correct in his statement. One will suffice." Again he reeks of an over protective father.

"You two seem to argue quite a bit, what happens when you two decide you want to kill each other?" He says in his defense.

"Highly unlikely. We may fight and cause bodily harm to one another, but it's usually for…fun." She says with a mischievous grin. Oh yeah, girl is all kinds of twisted.

The Captain catches on immediately. "AHH! I don't need to know that." He says as he shakes his head as if he is trying to dislodge the mental image she's conjured.

I just laugh at him. "Don't worry, it only seems kinky the first time."

"You know some would say you're borderline psychotic."

She just shrugs her shoulders. "Everything is subjective."

"Fine, but if one of you decides to kill the other, you clean up your own gorram mess, I don't want blood stains everywhere."

"Yes sir." She says with a mock salute.

"There is also the issue of what happened to you out there."

She looks at me then shrugs her shoulders a bit. "Epileptic seizure, a side effect of experimentation at the hands her captors, she does not know what brought it on."

Well played River, last thing you want your new 'boss' knowing is that Reavers make you go all wooly. She turns and smiles at me to acknowledge she heard my thought.

"Well you had us worried, glad to know you are okay now." He says.

"If that is all the girl would like to get some…sleep…Captain Daddy." She says as she winks at me and hops off the table and out of the infirmary.

"Don't call me that!" He screams at her retreating form.

XXX

River's POV

She can hear the music following, stalking her like prey; the beat slowly pulsating with each step, perfectly in sync with her movements.

She glances back towards him as she rounds the corner to passenger dorms. A come hither glance plays on her features. She opens the door to their bunk and steps inside. She doesn't bother to close the door though, knowing he isn't more than a few steps behind her.

…_**You let me violate you  
You let me desecrate you…**_

Slowly she begins to pull of her dusty clothing, wanting to draw this out as much as possible. She hears him close and lock the door, and the lights in the room begin to dim. By the time she removes her shirt and bra she feels his hands start on her shoulders and begin skimming down her arms.

…_**You let me penetrate you  
You let me complicate you…**_

She closes her eyes and leans into him, relishing his touch and his sweet music. She feels the grazing bites on her neck, his lips along the back of her shoulders. She can barely manage to kick off her boots, he's such a distraction. It's not going to be like last time, he wants to drag this out, make her writhe around in ecstasy.

…_**Help me  
I broke apart my insides  
Help me  
I've got no soul to sell…**_

His hands move to her waist, slowly playing with the waistband of her pants, teasing along the skin.

_**..Help me  
The only thing that works for me  
Help me get away from myself…**_

"Tell me what you want." She purrs as she turns to face him. She slowly removes his goggles and lets them fall to the floor with her shirt. His mercury eyes look at her as if she is a dying man's last meal.

"_**I want to fuck you like an animal**__._" He says as she walks backwards towards the bed, her eyes never leaving his.

He follows almost immediately, covering her body with his. "_**I want to feel you from the inside**_." He says as he begins to nip at her collarbone while his hands roam over her body.

She pulls at his shirt now and throws it somewhere into the room, not bothering to care where it lands. One of his hands has moved onto the buttons of her pants. She bucks her hips up to allow him to pull them down her body, and he takes her underwear along with it.

…_**You can have my isolation  
You can have the hate that it brings  
You can have my absence of faith…**_

Her hands move to his pants now, making short work of the button and zipper, as her feet come up and push them down his hips, but she doesn't bother with his boots.

She bites his lip ashe slowly starts to tease her core with his fingers. _**"You… can have…my… everything." **_She says between pants and whimpers.

He withdraws his fingers now, moving his tip to her now wet center. He slowly begins to push into her, but quickly withdrawing, wanting her to be at the verge of breaking before he finally enters her fully.

…_**Help me  
Tear down my reason  
Help me  
It's your sex I can smell…**_

"…Riddick…" She gasps breathlessly. It's only then that he finally thrusts all the way into her.

…_**Help me  
You make me perfect  
Help me become somebody else…**_

There is no restraint now, no tender kisses; just pure animalistic lust. Each of them biting, scratching, clawing, and marking the other's skin. He pushes into her harder, faster, with less rhythm and she knows they are both close. So much for drawing things out…

"I want…to feel…you…come...River." He says between bites and kisses.

And with one more brutal thrust her eyes roll back and she moans loudly into his mouth. He follows shortly after.

…_**My whole existence is flawed  
You get me closer to god…**_

He rolls off to the side now, wrapping an arm around her possessively. She can feel sleep slowly begin to claim her, feel her eyelids become heavy with each second that passes. But as she is falling into the land of nod, she hears the faint echoes of the music…

…_**Through every forest  
Above the trees  
Within my stomach  
Scraped off my knees  
I drink the honey  
Inside your hive  
You are the reason  
I stay alive…**_

XXX

…A few hours later…

River's POV

The first few notes invade her sleep, and her mind wakes when the cello strings are plucked. It's hauntingly beautiful, but it's not coming from her, or Riddick sleeping beside her. It's further in the distance…she can vaguely hear it…vaguely hear the violins as she opens her eyes from her dreamless sleep. She crawls out of bed, careful not to wake him, and pulls on the nearest thing around; not bothering with her shoes. She climbs up the ladder to their bunk and opens the hatch.

It's still Serenity's night cycle and the running lights are dimmed to mimic the effects of night. She closes her eyes and traces her hands along the metal walls, allowing her finger tips to just skim along the surface; letting the building music guide her.

Each step she takes brings her closer, and she can hear it more clearly now, a beautiful requiem...lux aterna…but something feels…off. She opens her eyes and looks up at the source of the music...it doesn't make sense.

This should not be in her dreams. It's much too dark to be in her repertoire...

XXX

AN: That was an ominous ending huh? What could this possibly mean? Are they all doomed? Who's flying this thing? HAHA Oh that would be me ;) Till next time =)


	22. Chapter 21 The best laid plans

As always thank you to all those who read and review my story. It means so much to me that so many people are still following it. I own nothing, I'm just borrowing the characters for my own amusement, so please don't sue.

Chapter 21: The best laid plans…

XXX

The next day Mal announced to the crew of Serenity that River and Riddick would be staying on as hired guns. No one seemed too surprised given the success of the last job, but there had been questions regarding River's…episode, but the same excuse had been given and it was easily dismissed.

When Mal asked if Shepherd Book would like to be dropped off at another destination, he was more than a little surprised when he simply declined and offered his services as cook as a way to stay on as well. Mal had sarcastically questioned him about 'needin' to spread the word', but the Shepherd had merely said he had heathens a plenty right here on Serenity. The Captain hadn't been too happy about this, but he eventually settled down after he had the first meal Shepherd had prepared. Book was right… spices make anything tolerable.

River had spoken to Book about getting a hold of a few of his contacts from the old days to see if they could dig up any files on her from the Academy. He seemed hesitant at first, not wanting to risk letting anyone know about her and her history with the Alliance, but when River told him they may help her understand if things could be…improved… with regard to handling her abilities and…'episodes', he became more willing to think about her request.

XXX

…A day or two later…

River's POV

Captain Daddy, the ape man, and the girl were all seated in a border moon bar, waiting to make contact with a friend of a friend of Mal's that had a some information about a job. Zoe and Riddick had left the unlikely trio about an hour ago to procure ammunitions and would be meeting them back at the ship.

The bar is an entirely new experience for the girl, not having had much opportunity to socialize with people, and all the dancers, the card games, and music was causing her to be a little distracted.

"Your move Moony." Jayne said drawing her back to the game of Chinese checkers that she, the ape man, and Captain Daddy were currently playing. She moves a piece and then returns to looking at all the people in the bar.

"You'd think she'd never been to a bar before." Jayne says as he makes his move.

She doesn't bother to turn around to answer him. "Not one like this…it's fascinating."

"What's so fascinating about some shitty little bar and a bunch of drunks?" Mal says as he studies the board finally settling on a piece to move.

"You try being locked up for several years without much human interaction and then we shall talk Captain." She says as she turns and looks at the board.

She looks at the board and smiles. "That's a bold move."

"I live on the edge."

Even without her…talents…Mal was just making it too easy for her. She proceeds to jump over his now perfectly aligned pieces from one side of the board to the other.

"Nice work, dumbass." Jayne grunts.

Mal looks a little defeated and she offers him a sympathetic smile. "I'd given some thought to movin' off the edge… not an ideal location…thinkin' a place in the middle."

And that's when the girl realizes he is not paying attention to the game, but the drunks at the bar. She catches a few of their thoughts and rolls her eyes.

"Toast! Toast!" But no one quiets down he yells. "QUIET! SHUT UP!"

She catches a stray thought from Mal. _**"…Bout time someone decided to say something…"**_ She laughs at herself, she should have known why he was so keen to be in the bar...oh well, she could cross off being in a bar brawl from her list of things to do.

"I'm, uh, I got words... I'm sayin' this is an…a'spicious day."

Now Mal is just looking uncomfortable and serious, and she can hear the trumpets sounding the charge.

"We all know what day it is." The drunk, whose name is Lund, yells.

"Suspicious... what day is it?" Jayne asks. She gives him a look that says you are such a boob.

"A glorious day, for all the proud members of the allied planets. Unification day!" Lund yells as he punches his fist in the air.

"…_**Chùsheng xai-jiao de xiang huo, bastards like him wouldn't know what it was like…"**_

"The end of the scumbag independents, the dawn of a new galaxy!"

And as the crowd begins to cheer Mal gets up from his seat.

"Captain?" She says.

"I just feel the need for another drink."

She watches him walk towards the bar and then leaves a still confused Jayne mumbling to himself. "What month is it?"

XXX

Mal walks over to the bar, and stands next to the drunk who had been giving the toast. He leans forward to get the bartender's attention.

When he gets the bartenders attention he places his order. "_Ching zie lie ee bay Ng-Ka-Pei_?"

That's when the drunk decides it's time for another toast and turns towards Mal. "Hey, you gonna drink t'the Alliance wi' me? Six years today, the Alliance sent the browncoats running, pissing their pants."

He looks at Mal a little more now. "Y'know, your coat is kinda a brownish color."

"It was on sale." Mal deadpans and then downs his drink.

"You didn't toast...Y'know, I'm thinkin' you one of them independents."

"And I'm thinkin' you weren't burdened with an overabundance of schooling. So why don't we

just ignore each other, til we go away?"

Mal turns away from the man and faces the bar again; he looks into the mirror behind the bar and notices River sidle up next to the drunk, who is far too busy glaring at Mal to notice.

"The Independents were a bunch of cowardly inbred pisspots. Shoulda been killed off of every world spinnin'." He says to mal, trying to provoke a reaction.

And that does it for Mal, he sets down his drink and turns towards the man, stone faced.

"Say that to my face." He says with an edge of anger. The drunk and he both then proceed to stand and face each other.

"I said, you're a coward, and a pisspot. Now what are you gonna do about it?"

And Mal smiles as he sees the girl move behind the man. "Nothin'. I just wanted you to face me so she could get behind ya."

The drunk turns and his face meets River's well placed fist.

"Drunks are so cute." Mal says with a smile to her. However, he realizes she isn't looking at him, but at the local color getting up from their seats now.

"_Oh juh jen sh guh kwai luh duh jean jan."_

"You started it." River deadpans.

Mal looks over to his other hired gun. "Jayne..."

"Hey, I didn't fight in no war. Best of luck, though." He says as he raises a glass to Mal.

"Then what am I paying you for?" Mal says with irritation as the first drunk proceeds to swing at him.

XXX

…Bridge of Serenity…

"Everything looks good from here...Yes. Yes, this is a fertile land, and we will thrive." Wash says trough a stegosaurus toy.

"We will rule over all this land, and we will call it... "This Land." He says through again through the same toy.

But then he holds up a T-Rex in a menacing fashion, as if to convey a sense of impending doom. "I think we should call it "your grave!"

"Ah, curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!" The stegosaurus cowers.

"Ha ha HA! Mine is an evil laugh! Now die!" And with that the T-Rex begins to devour the other.

That's when he hears Mal come on over the comm.. "Wash, we've got some local color happening. Your grand entrance would not go amiss."

"Got to love U-Day." Wash says as sets down the toys and preps Serenity for a 'grand entrance.'

XXX

…After the 'grand' entrance…

River's POV

"Damn yokels can't even tell a transport ship ain't got no guns on it." Jayne says as he hops onto Serenity. "Blow a new crater in this moon. Ha! Idiots."

"That was fun… let's do that again!" The girl asks Mal as they hop onto Serenity.

"I'll have to remember you thought so when my head stops hurting so much." Mal says as they pass Riddick and Zoe in the hall.

"I take it there was a brawl." Zoe says with a laugh.

"He started it." The girl says to the Warrior woman.

"Wha? I didn't start it! Just wanted a quiet drink." Mal says defensively.

"Funny, sir." Zoe deadpans. "You always seem to find yourself in an Alliance-friendly bar come U-day, looking for a "quiet drink."

"See, this is another sign of your tragic space dementia, all paranoid and crotchety."

XXX

Riddick's POV

I hope the Captain at least got the job before he decided to trash the place. "Did we at least make a contact?" I ask. River just gives me her signature eye roll.

Mal pulls a piece of paper from his pocket for everyone to see. "Ladies and menfolk, we have ourselves a job."

Zoe grabs the paper with a smile and walks towards the bridge to give the coordinates to Wash.

"You might want to bandage your hand Captain Daddy." River says as she walks towards the cargo bay again.

Now I wasn't happy with River's nickname for Mal at first. The rest of the crew was more than a little shocked as well, although I think Jayne was just confused. But the reaction that it gets out of Mal makes it funnier by the day to everyone.

"I ain't your DADDY!" He yells after her as he turns and walks towards the infirmary.

Yup, never gets old.

XXX

…Outside Serenity's Infirmary…

"Evil…the girl is pure evil." Mal says as he walks towards the infirmary to bandage his hand.

"I take it she hasn't stopped calling you..." Shepherd Book says as Mal passes him.

"DON"T SAY IT! And no, she hasn't." Mal says gruffly as he enters the infirmary.

Book chuckles and leans against the door to the infirmary. "I'm curious Captain…why a man so anxious to fly under Alliance radar would house known fugitives. The Alliance had her in that institution to make her a weapon, by all accounts they succeeded, and they will want her back. Riddick is just if not more of a psychopath than she is and you're not overly fond of him, so why offer them jobs?"

"Well...with skills like that, makes you wonder what they would have done if I hadn't." He says as he bandages his hand.

XXX

River's POV

She began stretching in the cargo bay over the last few days as a cover, hoping to establish enough of a routine that it would go unquestioned by the two women she knew would be passing by her shortly. Since the other night, when she heard the music of Inara's dreams, she had been trying to observe her further. Unfortunately Captain Daddy had either had miscellaneous chores for her or had proceeded to anger the painted flower so that she retreated to her shuttle, where further observation had proved difficult.

"You have such lovely hair Kaylee, I just wish you would let me put it up for once." Inara says as she and Kaylee walk in to the cargo bay from the upper deck.

"Ah ain't no need to, not like there's anyone around here to fancy up for." The Sunshine replies.

And just as the girl is about to go unnoticed, Kaylee looks down briefly and catches sight of her. "Oh, hi River." She says with a warm smile.

The girl mentally curses her bad luck. "Hello." She calls up to them.

"We were just about to have some tea in my shuttle, would you like to join us?" Inara asks, trying to be as warm as the sunshine, but the girl can tell she is still apprehensive. Unlike Kaylee, Inara is not one to let down her defenses, but her train has also taught her it would be poor manners on her part if she did not at least offer to include the girl.

She cannot help but smile a little at this, hoping that her smile comes off as hopeful and not devious. "They would not mind if the girl joined them?" She asks.

"Not at all." Inara says.

Wise words play through her mind…At first, be like a maiden; when the enemy opens the door, be swift like a hare; your enemy will not withstand you…

She rises from the floor. "Then the girl gladly accepts your invitation."

She walks up the stairs to where Inara and Kaylee are waiting for her and follow them into Inara's shuttle.

Inara and Kaylee both walk in and take a seat by the tea table Inara has near some floor cushions. The girl merely looks around the room, trying to take in everything as if there is a clue hidden in the tapestries and pillows.

"Please have a seat, would you like some tea?"

River seats herself on one of the floor cushions and delicately picks up one of the tea cups. "Thank you."

"Alright Mei-mei, let's see if we can brush out your hair today." Inara says as she picks up a hair brush and Kaylee moves to sit in front of her.

The shuttle is not what the girl expected. There are no gaudy colors, no pinks, purples, golds, or other flashy colors; instead the linens and drapery is a deep shade of burgundy. A small shrine to Buddha sits near the draped area that serves as Inara's sleeping quarters.

But what are most intriguing are the somewhat poorly concealed weapons around the room. The hilt of a dagger that barely peaks out from under Inara's pillow; the advanced archery bow somewhat poorly disguised to look ceremonial. Interesting…

After a few minutes, Kaylee breaks the silence that has briefly fallen on the room. "Do you ever do this for your clients?"

"Very occasionally. Not all of them have enough hair to get a brush through." Inara says as she continues.

Kaylee turns a little towards Inara now, hoping to hear more details about the Companion's life, clearly fascinated by the stories the flower could tell her. "Have you ever had to service a really hideous client? With boils and the like?"

"Guild law stipulates a Companion chooses her own clients." The girl interrupts. She then mentally kicks herself for interrupting and reminding them that she is also in the room.

"That's right River." Inara says as she glances at the girl and then turns her attention back towards Kaylee. "But physical appearance doesn't matter so terribly. You look for a compatibility of spirit. There's an energy about a person that's difficult to hide, you try to feel that…"

"And then you try to feel the energy of their credit account. It has a sort of aura." Mal says as he walks in. It would be just her luck that the first time she is invited to be around the painted flower, he interrupts!

She scowls at him, not that he notices any. He's too busy focusing on Inara. That was one of the more obvious things that the girl had picked up on in the few days aboard Serenity. The Captain was irrefutably in love with Inara…and too damn stubborn to admit it to anyone, even himself. Men are such boobs.

"What did I say to you about barging into my shuttle?"

He smirks at her now. Like a schoolboy with a crush. "That it was manly and impulsive?"

The girl just rolls her eyes. Silly Captain, that's no way to win her favor.

"Yes, precisely. Only the exact phrase I used was "don't"."

"Well, you're holding my mechanic and government assassin in thrall. And Kaylee, what the hell's goin' on in the engine room? Were there monkeys? Some terrifying space monkeys maybe got loose?"

"That's fallacious Captain Daddy, no such creatures exist." She corrects him. He grimaces at the nickname and she smiles at his discomfort.

"Girl, how many times do I have to tell you I ain't your daddy."

Kaylee just lets out an exasperated huff. "I had to rewire the grav thrust because somebody

won't replace that crappy compression coil."

"Well get the place squared away. It's dangerous in there, and I ain't paying you to get your hair played at. And you can help her you know it all genius."

Both the girl and the sunshine get up to do as they are told. "_Kuh ooh duh lao bao jurn_." The sunshine mumbles as they walk out the door.

The girl merely glances back at him and glares before following Kaylee. Her retaliation will be swift for Malcolm Reynolds.

XXX

"So what's the job?" Jayne asks Zoe and Wash as he pops his head into the bridge.

"We haven't gotten a location yet. We'll be landing on the Skyplex in a bit. Run by a fellow called Niska." She says as she reviews some star charts.

"Shiny, I'll be in my bunk then." He says as he walks out. Both Wash and Zoe merely roll their eyes at the merc.

XXX

…A few hours later…

River's POV

"So…if you can hear peoples' thoughts, does that mean you can hear what the Captain's thinking now?" Wash asks her.

Mal, Zoe, and Jayne went aboard the Skyplex an hour ago to speak to Niska about the job he has for them. Mal thought it was better for the girl and Riddick to sit this meet out. Riddick had no problem since it was just the first meet, but the girl had protested, citing her abilities as a reason to go. However, Mal didn't trust Niska given his reputation and had insisted she sit this one out. So the girl was currently occupying herself on the bridge with Wash.

"If she tried she might be able to, she has never attempted without being in close proximity to a person. The Skyplex is three square kilometers; it would prove to be difficult to pinpoint the Captain's thoughts among the many minds that she would have to scan." She says as she plays with one of Wash's dinosaurs. "Following a trail of memories is a little easier; it's like a thread that she can trace. It lingers long after a person has left. But it would still take a reasonable amount of time to accomplish."

"So you can feel what happened somewhere?" He asks somewhat concerned. The girl knows all about his little trysts with the Warrior woman in the bridge, but will not say anything to embarrass him.

"Affirmative. But don't worry…the girl will not divulge secrets." She says with a knowing smile.

"See that smile is just all sorts of creepy when you say things like that." He says as he turns back to monitor the comm.

The girl chuckles at this. "It is not the first time she has heard this..."

XXX

…Later that night…

Riddick's POV

Zoe, Jayne, Mal, River, and I are seated around the table discussing Niska's job, going over the schematics and maps that we were given.

"A Train Job? That's it? I'm a little disappointed. Man like him should at least be hiring for kidnapping and torture jobs."

"The things that come out of your mouth are just as bad as her sometimes." Mal says to me.

"Subjective." River says as she shifts through the schematics.

"So what's the plan?" I ask.

"In the fifth car of a train bound for Paradiso from Hancock are two boxes. Alliance goods. We get on train at Hancock, and take the boxes off before reaching Paradiso, and deliver 'em to Niska's man here." Mal says as he points at the map laid out in front of them. "We get the other half of the money at the rendezvous point."

River looks puzzled when she pulls the schematics for the train. "What's in the crates?" She inquires.

Jayne pipes in now "Don't you know anything girly, you don't ask what's in the crates you're gonna pilfer. Not good business."

"He's right bit, it's not."

"But it is an important variable for calculations. The contents of the crates would influence many other factors."

"Well we didn't ask and we ain't gonna now." The ape man says.

"Don't blame me if calculations cannot be completed accurately then." She says as she throws up her hands. Girl's gonna have to learn to not get so irritated at not having all variables available to her. Looks like a child throwing a temper tantrum when she does that.

"Anyways…" He says with a pointed look to River. "The big question is how do we get the crates and whoever we put on the train off without stopping it?" Mal says.

"Could we throw the crates into the mule and hop onto it?" Jayne asks.

"No, the mule tops out at 85 kilometers an hour, the train does at least 200." Zoe says as she pulls the train blueprints.

"Why don't we just lift them off." I ask.

There is a silence around the table before it starts to sink in. "Hey that ain't a half bad idea. Is there an overhead hatch in that train compartment?" He asks as he begins studying the schematics more seriously.

"Affirmative." River says. I can see the wheels start to spin in her head now, picking up speed like a freight train. "Do we have electrical schematics for Serenity?"

"There here…somewhere." Zoe says as she begins shuffling papers around the table. "Here," she says as she unfolds them.

River takes a moment to study them before she speaks. "If Kaylee can rewire the controls for the trash compartment in the cargo bay we could open both sets of doors at the same time and attach the wench above there." She says as she hovers over the blueprints.

"Would the support beams above there hold the extra weight of a wench?" Zoe asks.

"Hypothetically yes, but if the girl knew what was in the crates…"

"SHUT UP ABOUT THE GORRAM CRATES!" Both Jayne and I yell at her. Girl can really get on our nerves.

XXX

…Serenity's Bridge…

"Excuse me Wash?" Book says as he enters the bridge.

"What's up Shepherd?" The pilot says as he turns towards him.

"I was wondering if I could wave someone on the cortex. I wanted to check in with the abbey and let them know that I am planning on traveling a little while longer."

"Sure, that shouldn't be a problem. Do you want me to set it up for you?"

"I think I can manage that son, but thank you."

"Well if you're gonna be in here for a few minutes would you mind watching things while I ran to the head and grabbed some more coffee?" Wash asks.

"No problem at all, I'll let you know if anything comes up on the scanners." Book says as he takes a seat, thankful that he did not have to think up some sorry excuse for privacy.

"Thanks Shepherd." Wash says as he grabs his cup and walks out the door.

Book sits down and quickly punches in an old moderator code to firewall the wave and connects into the cortex. He is close enough for a vid to go through so he dials in the old IP address. His contact should be willing to help; after all he always did like a challenge.

It takes a minute to go through but it finally connects. "Well there is a face I have not seen in a very long time. Last I heard you were out of the business old man. Do what do I owe this unexpected pleasure?"

"Technically I am, but a friend of mine asked for a rather challenging favor, dealing with some rather…sensitive material, and naturally, I thought that you might be the man for the job, since you did always love a challenge."

"Derrial, you flatter me, which will get you everywhere. Bring it on, bring it on, bring it on. From here to the eyes and the ears of the 'verse, that's my motto. Or at least it would be, if I start having a motto."

"I'll upload the specifics to you shortly. With regard to your usual fee…" He begins to ask as he uploads the information River had given him to use in the search, but is quickly cut off by the man on the other side of the screen.

"For you old friend, I'll do it free of charge…You always did bring me the very best violence, it's the least I can do."

"I appreciate that. I look forward to hearing from you Mr. Universe." And with that he closes the link and leaves the bridge.

XXX

AN: Okay, so I will admit I am a HUGE David Krumholtz fan. So I couldn't resist putting him in my fanfic. They never really explained how it was Mal and Co. knew him. So for my story, I thought that out of Riddick or Book, Book would most likely know Mr. U. Hope you guys enjoyed this update =) Till next time.


	23. Ch22 …often go awry Gnossienne No 1

AN: Sorry that this update took a little longer for me to post. My life has become quite chaotic as of late, so please forgive me if the updates take a little longer. Thank you for all those that read or review, it really means a lot that people follow my story. Anyways, I own nothing, please do not sue me, and on with the show.

CH 22: …often go awry (Gnossienne No. 1)

XXX

…The next day…

"How long till we hit Paradiso?" Mal says as he glances out the window of the train.

She looks at her wrist watch. "Another twenty minutes. We should be in the foothills in five."

"Best get to work." Mal says as he rises to feet and waits for Zoe before walking towards the back of the compartment.

They start making their way through the crowd when Zoe finally voices a concern she has had since they took the job. "He's a psycho you know. Niska."

Mal just shakes his head a little and smirks. "He's not the first psycho to hire us, nor the last. You think that's a commentary on us?"

She shivers a little at the memory of meeting Niska. "I just have an image in my head of a guy hanging from the ceiling."

Mal interrupts her before she can continue though. "I've got an image of it not being me. Let's do the thing."

He opens the door to the next compartment, but instead of more country folk, is greeted with the site of at least twenty Feds.

"Hi." Mal says with a little surprise.

XXX

…Meanwhile…

River's POV

Something does not feel right. All of her calculations come to the same conclusion as well, that more information is required. There are too many holes in the data that they were given, too many missing pieces, but her protestations just fall on deaf ears.

Even Riddick had stalked off not wanting to listen to her and proceeded to threaten her if she mentioned 'the gorram contents or missing numbers' again.

They had dropped off Mal and Zoe for the job an hour ago and she found herself pacing in the cargo bay while Kaylee ran another test on the wench.

"There's no need to worry Riv. The Captain's _jen duh sh tyen tsai _when it comes to plans." Kaylee says as she looks over from the controls.

"It doesn't add up." The girl says as she continues pacing, trying to run the numbers again.

"Not everythin' has to, sometimes things just work." Sunshine says with a smile.

"Just stay' the hell outta everyone's way Moony and shut up about the job." Jayne says as he comes near the two.

"There's no call to be snappy, Jayne." Kaylee scowls at him a little.

"You about to jump on a movin' train? Captain ain't around. I'm in charge. And I don't want to hear any more from her." He says as he examines the rigging he is going to use as a harness.

The girl glares at him now. "Since when does the lack of Captain Daddy's presence put you in charge?"

"Since I said, that's when!" He says as he begins to step into the harness.

Again she just glares intently at him and then proceeds to storm out of the cargo bay. If they do not want to listen, fine!

XXX

…Back on the train…

Zoe almost blanches at the site of all the Feds sitting in the train compartment. "Sir, is there some information we might maybe be lacking as to why there's an entire fed squad sitting on this train?" Zoe says in a hushed voice.

"Doesn't concern us." Mal says as he goes to take a step. Zoe holds him back though.

She whispers again. "It kinda concerns me."

"I mean they're not protecting the goods. If they were, they wouldn't be letting people past 'em." Mal says as he motions to the three civilians walking towards them.

"You don't think that changes the situation a bit?"

"I surely do…Makes it more fun." He says with a chuckle.

"Sir? I think you have a problem with your brain being missing."

"Come on. We stick to the plan. We get the goods, we're back on Serenity before the train even reaches Paradiso, only now we do it under the noses of twenty trained Alliance Feds. And that makes 'em look all manner of stupid. Hell, this job I would pull for free."

"Can I have your share?"

"No." He says sternly.

"If you die, can I have your share?" She asks.

"Yes."

XXX

Riddick's POV

"Hey Riddick, bout' time for some thrilling heroics." Jayne's voice bellows over the comm in the cabin.

I sit up from the bed and put my goggles on and move over to the comm link. "On my way."

It doesn't take me more than minute to reach the cargo bay. Kaylee is manning the controls for the doors and the wench, while Jayne is hooked into the wench. But what's surprising is he is standing there in some ridiculous orange hat.

"Nice hat Cobb." I say as move to take up the rope for the failsafe pulley.

"What? It's a cunnin' hat! My momma made it for me."

"Then your momma must not love you Cobb." I say as I look around for River. "So where's River?" I ask Kaylee when I don't see her.

"Jayne made her all mad and she left a few minutes ago." She says as she glares at the ape man in question.

"What! She was damaging my calm? She ain't jumpin' on a movin' train."

I just shake my head a little and chuckle. He is right, girl can be all kinds of annoying.

XXX

When Book walks by the dining hall he is a little alarmed at what he sees. River is sitting at the table with every knife from the kitchen laid out in front of her.

"River, what are you doing?" He asks as he comes to sit next to her at the table.

"Sharpening the kitchen knives as a form of stress relief while contemplating which one would inflict the most harm to the ape man." She says as she picks up a large boning knife.

Book quickly takes the knife from her and takes her hands. "Child, I know that you have been…deprived…of a normal upbringing, but you are going to have to learn some patience when dealing with other people." He says to her, hoping she doesn't pick up a knife and slice him.

She cocks her head to the side a little. "She would never slice Hermes. He is much too nice to the girl to deserve such treatment."

Book merely shakes his head a little. "Not everyone is always going to see things the way you do River. You can't expect people to always agree with you."

"Then they are boobs." She says as she lets go of his hands and moves to pick up another knife.

"And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone."

River pauses in her work and looks at him again. "It also says that one should abstain from every form of evil." She says as she goes back to sharpening the knife in her hand. "Men do not often follow their own words of wisdom; the girl sees no reason she should either. Especially when so much evil has been done to her."

He sighs and gets up from the table. "See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people." And with that he leaves her be, hoping she thinks about what he has said.

XXX

Mal takes out the security card that Niska gave them and swipes it in the card reader near the door.

"Niska's sources better be good." He says as the reader processes the card. There is a little chime and the card works, allowing the door to slide open.

"Shiny." Zoe says as she quickly steps inside.

They close the door and Zoe rigs a smoke canister to the door as insurance. Mal pulls a box to the middle of the car, stands on it, and starts unscrewing a roof panel.

"Find the cargo." He says over his shoulder.

She quickly begins to look around for the crates. She pulls a sheet off of two black boxes with red labels.

"All hail the great Alliance."

XXX

Jayne checks the straps to the harness one last time as he counts down. "5…4…3…2…1" He says out loud as he jumps through the trash compartment doors and onto the train bellow.

Kaylee looks down and sees that the wench has held and that Jayne hasn't been splattered on the side of the train.

"Well…it held." She says with a smile.

XXX

Mal pulls off the panel, leaving an opening for Jayne to crawl through. It doesn't take long before he somewhat falls into the compartment.

"I ain't gorram jumping on no train like that again Mal, no ruttin' way." He says as he pulls his goggles up.

"You lived, now quit whining and secure the cargo." Mal says as he and Zoe drag the crates over to the opening.

They make short work of attaching the crates to the wench cable.

"Fifteen seconds." Jayne says into his comm.

Everything looks like it's going to work out and Mal can't help but smile. But just as he and Zoe are about to clip into the rigging the smoke canister at the door goes off.

"Ah shit." Mal says before the area they are standing in is peppered with gunshots from the Fed at the door.

Jayne takes a hit in the leg and immediately screams in pain.

"GO!" Zoe screams to Jayne as she pulls out her gun.

"Go now!" Jayne says into the comm and a moment later he is yanked up and out towards Serenity.

Mal quickly moves to knock the Fed out before the smoke clears and he gets a good look at them. One quick punch to the temple and he's down.

He turns to Zoe. "Come on!" And with that they run into the other car before more feds arrive.

XXX

…Back on Serenity…

Riddick's POV

"Where are the others?" Kaylee says as Jayne collapses onto the ground.

"Ah! They shot my gorram leg." He bellows from the floor

She just ignores his pain. "Jayne, are they still on the train? Are they gonna be okay?"

"This is just great, just ruttin' great." I say as I unhook the cargo from the rigging.

"Hey! I got shot!" Jayne says with indignation from the floor.

"Yeah! And we're in deep shit!" I yell back.

River, Inara, and the Shepherd come running in now. "What happened?" Book asks.

"I GOT SHOT!" Jayne yells. "There were gorram feds on the train!"

Now when he says this I can't help but grimace. I know River is going to lose her shit over this. Damn girl was right after all, we should have had more information. But what pisses me off more…is knowing that we are never going to be allowed to forget she was right.

She balls up her fists and starts yelling. "_Daxiang baozhashi de laduzi! He chusheng zajiao dezanghuo! _This is why you find the missing varriables!"

"Does anyone know how to pull out a bullet? Normally Zoe or Jayne does it." Kaylee says as she moves over to where Jayne is sitting.

"I do." Book says as he moves to help Jayne up to the infirmary.

That's when Wash's voice cuts in over the comm. "What's going on down there?" Hello?"

XXX

…Paradiso Train Depot…

Mal and Zoe are now standing with the other passengers, trying desperately to avoid being seen by the Sherriff or his deputies. There are tons of sick and coughing people around. As the Sherriff moves closer they turn their backs towards him.

"Everybody off. Everybody in there okay?" The Sherriff says to an approaching Fed.

"Our man didn't get a look."

"Well, Jesus, can somebody find out what they took?" He yells at the Fed. He turns towards the crowd and yells to someone. "Handy! Keep those people together."

One of his deputies wanders up to him now. "It's the medicine, sir. All of the supplies."

"They stole the gorram medicine!"

Zoe and Mal both share a rather grim look now, overhearing what it is they stole.

"We've been waitin'... All of it?"

His deputy looks to the ground. "Every ounce."

"God help us." The Sherriff says as he moves into the crowd.

Both Zoe and Mal look around more at all of the sick people, a gut wrenching feeling taking hold of them.

"Son of a bitch." Zoe says.

"We ain't gonna hear the end of this from lil' bit are we?" Mal says looking rather crestfallen.

Now it's Zoe's turn to give Mal the 'you're a boob look. "Not a chance in hell."

XXX

River's POV

Serenity has been landed in the foothills and now everyone has crowded into the infirmary. All of their minds scream at her but it is hard to discern anything because they are all talking at once. She is having trouble fighting off the oncoming headache.

"Gorram it, let's get us moving." Jayne says angrily from the infirmary table.

"Now, I'm not finished." Book says as he attempts to restrain Jayne and finish the dressing.

Jayne does not seem to care though and merely tries to get up again. He turns towards Wash. "Why are you parked here? This ain't the _go tsao de _rendezvous spot."

"It is now." Wash says.

"The people we are meeting ain't partial to waitin'." Riddick says from his perch at the doorway.

Wash merely turns to him and remarks sarcastically but firm. "Let 'em read a magazine. We don't make the sale until Mal and Zoe are back on the boat."

"These are stone killers, little man. They ain't cuddly like me an him." The ape man says from behind Wash.

"I'm not flying anywhere without my wife." Wash yells.

"She'll be okay. She's with the Captain." Kaylee offers up as some comfort.

Now the ape man stands on his good leg. "There, you see? Everybody wins." He says before he tries putting his leg down and screams in pain. Book just merely watches him.

"Shepherd, I need a pop to quiet this pain some." Jayne says.

She sees Hermes go over to get some medication, but instead of getting the vial with the pain killer, he gets the sedative. Oh that is very good, and she wishes she would have thought of that earlier.

"All right, but what about the authorities? I mean, we're sitting here with stolen Alliance goods.

Won't they be looking for us?" Inara asks.

Wash shakes his head. "They buzz this canyon, we'll hear them long before they ever see us. I figure we're good for...

She interrupts here though. "Negative. Calculations predict our cover will diminish greatly in the next hour."

Jayne looks like his blood is ready to boil now. "How's about you shut that crazy mouth? We done had enough of your calculations."

She wants to shoot him herself now. "Well if you had listened to her the first time about…"

"GORRAM SHUT UP ABOUT THE CRATES!" The ape man screams. "Now I'm in ruttin' charge here, and I'm tellin' you how it works. We don't get the goods to Niska on time, he'll make meat pies out of the lot of us. And I ain't walkin' into that."

"Is this Adelai Niska you're talking about?" Book asks as he injects Jayne. His mind swirls with past memories and the girl shakes her head the unpleasantness that Niska's name brings up.

"Now how would a Shepherd know a name like that?"

"As I've heard it, he made a deal with the Captain. If the Captain's not there to finish it, if Niska finds out he's being held, and may speak as to who hired him-I think we're better off being a little late." He says as he throws the syringe away.

"Fine! We wait an hour! If they ain't got a hold of us by then we go to the rendezvous point!" Jayne says as he limps out the room.

"This will not end well." The girl says from her perch on top the cabinet.

"You got any ideas then?" Riddick asks.

"Some, but she will need some time…She will also need the assistance of Hermes on the bridge…and no one else." She says as she jumps off the counter.

"What exactly do you need to do on the bridge?" Wash asks a little hesitant.

She shakes her head. "It would be better if only Hermes and the girl knew. Plausible deniability."

While Riddick's mind projects his irritation, he knows better than to say otherwise. He wants to avoid the inevitable 'I told you so,' a while longer.

Wash admits defeat. "Well then I guess we don't have any other options."

XXX

River's POV

…Five minutes later…

"River, I'm not sure if this is a good idea." Hermes says after she has briefly explained what she needs him to do.

"It's nothing that he has not done before."

"True, but this time I would need to hack the…"

"Irrelevant. A rose by any other name would smell as sweet, the name of one organization is interchangeable with another."

…Twenty minutes later…

The girl is not impressed, not in the least. You would think that given the rudimentary cortex present on Serenity Hermes would have more problems hacking into the Companion personnel database.

"Alright, I'm in, all you need to do is create the files and upload them to Inara's file."

"Thank you Hermes."

…Thirty seven minutes later…

She hears him coming long before he steps through the door.

"Curiosity killed the cat." She says without looking behind her.

He chuckles. "But intuition brought it back."

"Touché."

He comes and stands behind her, looking over her shoulder. She can hear the beat of his heart, its steady rhythm calming her a bit.

"You two are just full of surprises." He practically purrs.

She sighs contentedly. "Hide not your talents. They for use were made. What's a sundial in the shade?"

"Don't you think we should tell her though?" Book asks from the other side of the room, observing River as she works.

"In due time. The finished picture looks better when viewed as a whole."

…Fifty-nine minutes later…

River's POV

She can hear the ape's booming voice as he approaches the bridge. "Gorram it Kaylee I don't care!" Jayne yells at the sunshine following him up the stairs to the bridge. Wash is not far behind.

"That's it! We've waited long enough. Let's get this bird in the air." He says gruffly.

Wash scowls at him. "No rutting way."

Book looks at his watch and then up to Jayne again, a hint of concern evident in his tone. "You really should sit down."

"You can't just leave the Captain and Zoe here." Sunshine says with pleading.

The ape slams his fist into a nearby cabinet. "They ain't comin', we can't walk in there and get 'em, so they're done. Now let's fire it up!"

Inara walks in now, clearly drawn to the bridge by all the screaming. "What's going on?"

"Apparently we're takin' off." Riddick says. The girl merely scowls at him from where she finishes her work. He is baiting the situation and his humor is not appreciated.

"We're NOT!" Wash yells.

"Captain'd do the same if it was one of us." Jayne says.

Kaylee is clearly horrified at him for saying this. "Not in a million years!"

"Listen to…" The girl begins but is cut off by the ape spinning her chair around before she can say anything else.

"You know what the chain of command is little girl? It's the chain I go get and beat you with until you understand who's in ruttin' command here!"

He glares at her, challenging her own piercing gaze, and it's then she can finally begin to feel the foggy haze of the sedative taking hold of his mind. It's about bloody time!

"Now we're finishing this deal, and then maybe…maybe we'll come back for those morons who got themselves caught." He starts breathing heavily now. "You can't change that by getting all...bendy." And his eyes lose their focus.

"All what?" Riddick asks.

"She's got the light.. from the console.. keep you, lift you up. They shine like...little angels..." He says trying to grab at the non-existent lights in front of him. He then collapses with a thus on the floor of the bridge. The girl merely snickers as the rest of the crew, minus Book, just stare.

"Did he just go crazy and fall asleep?" Wash asks.

"I told him to sit down." Book says with wry smile.

Kaylee turns and looks almost horrified that a man of the cloth would do such a thing. If only she knew the truth. "You doped him?"

"It was supposed to kick in a good deal sooner. I just didn't feel comfortable with him in charge.

I hope... hope that's all right."

The Kaylee, Wash, and Inara look at each other and are clearly a little more pleased than she would expect. Yeah. It's all right the ape man is sedated.

Inara breaks the momentary silence. "So. How do we get the others?"

"Jayne was right about them not making contact. Chances are, they got pinched getting off

that train." Wash says as he looks over the comm again.

"We can't just waltz in and pull them out." Inara says.

"Au contraire, someone respectable enough can." River says as she snatches the printout from the terminal and hands it to Riddick to look at.

He merely nods his approval and then hands the papers to Inara. She looks a little puzzled at first then startled. _**"…They hacked the Companion database…my file…"**_

The girl rushes to assuage the fear bubbling up. "We did not open Pandora's box. We merely found it and then attached those papers."

There is momentary relief, but her walls are much more fortified now. "But…will this even work?"

"First rate forgeries, they will not be questioned."

Wash comes up and looks at the papers now, shock evident. "But…how did you two…"

"Again, plausible deniability. The papers will cease to be valid in an hour's time, so she suggests they move quickly."

XXX

Riddick's POV

I still don't see why I needed to go with her to pick up the Captain and Zoe. It seems like she is more than capable of walking into some run down border moon station to get them herself. River had said it would seem more believable for Inara to have a bodyguard. So here I sit with her in her shuttle as we fly towards the town.

"You can stay in the shuttle while I go in if you like." She says as she pilots the shuttle. She's changed into some red fancy lookin' dress and it looks more than a little odd to see her piloting this crappy shuttle.

"I don't feel like giving the girl more of a reason to be pissed off we didn't listen to her. Captain can have that one all himself. Besides…I kinda wanna see his face when you walk in there and read him the riot act."

She just laughs a little. "Well at least it will be amusing to someone."

Now that's interesting. "Is that contempt I hear in your voice?" I ask her.

"They hacked into the Companion's database. I have the right to be a little irritated."

"Oh please, all they did was attached some forged files that will delete themselves in an hour. Don't get your panties in a twist."

"I'm sure you wouldn't be as understanding if someone you barely knew hacked into your personnel files."

I look over at her now. "You sayin' you got something to hide?"

"What? No…I…it's just the principle of it."

I don't say anything more though. I don't need to be a reader to know she's lying.

XXX

River's POV

It takes Hermes, Sunshine, and Wash a few minutes before they can even get the slumbering ape man through the door. As soon as they do, she turns back to the terminal and pulls up Inara's file again. Book's firewall program will terminate in another thirty seconds, and she must work fast.

XXX

The first thing Mal does when he sees them walking through the crowd is to immediately rush toward them. He looks about ready to explode that they would come here.

"What the hell?" But that's all he gets out before she slaps him across the face.

"Don't you dare speak to me!" She turns now to the Sherriff following her and Riddick. "Sheriff, I want this man bound by law at once…That's assuming he hasn't been already?" She says.

"No one's been bound, not yet." The Sherrriff says.

"Thank God you stopped them." She turns her attention back to Mal and Zoe now. "Did you honestly think you could access my accounts and I wouldn't find you? And Zoe, what would your husband say if he knew you were here?"

While she was more than a little surprised at first, to her credit Zoe catches on quick. "I... I was weak."

"So I take it they ain't newlyweds?" The Sherriff asks.

Looking the part of menacing bodyguard Riddick answers his question. "Hardly, Malcolm's an indentured man, with three years left on his debt to Ms. Sera. I imagine we'll have to add another six months after this little adventure."

"Should I contact my ship? Do you need to hold them very much longer?" Inara asks now, wanting to make this as quick as possible.

"Looks to me like we're about done here. I, uh. We had some unrelated trouble. His story had kind of an odor to it."

"Yes, it's not the only thing about him that does." Riddick adds. He catches a glance from the Captain but merely smirks at him.

"Thank you, very much Sheriff." Inara says as she turns back to Mal and Zoe. "Come along." And with that they all walk out the door.

XXX

Riddick's POV

We manage to make it all the way to the shuttle before Mal says anything.

"WHAT in gorram hell do you think you were doin' in there?" He screams at Inara as soon as the shuttle door closes.

"Saving your ass!" She says as she brings the shuttle into the air.

"By coming in there to get us? I mean where the hell did you even get papers saying I was indentured to you? Won't they just show up as fakes? I mean Zoe help me out here…" He says as he looks to his first mate.

She merely holds up her hands. "I'm staying out of this one."

"Smart choice." I say from beside her.

"That's just great, my crew is turning on me." Mal says as he crosses his arms and pouts. Man really could pass as River's father with that attitude.

"Hey just be thankful we didn't leave you two like Jayne wanted us to." I bark at him, but he doesn't bother to say anything else.

XXX

River's POV

Kaylee and Wash are the first to run up to the shuttle once it's docked back on Serenity. Both

hoping their beloved Captain and Warrior woman are alright. Well, Wash really only cared that Zoe was alright.

"Hey. How'd it go?" Kaylee asks as Inara steps out of her shuttle.

"She hit me." Captain Daddy says as he follows her out.

The girl merely smirks. "You deserved it."

"Don't even start bit…I ain't in the mood." He says as he walks past her and toward the cargo bay stairs, stepping over Jayne as he walks down them. "What happened to him?"

"Don't ask." The girl says as she smirks and looks down at the ape man.

"We tried to get him into the infirmary, he's just… heavy." Kaylee says when Mal looks back at them.

"Captain, I've got the engine running, Shepherd Book is on standby to launch us, we're good to go." Wash says as he finally decides to let go of his wife.

"We're not going." Mal snaps.

"Not? What? Why not?

Zoe answers for Mal now. "We're bringin' the cargo back."

Jayne who is barely conscious on the floor begins to yell, well try and yell. "Wha? Whadda mean back? I waited for you guys!"

"Oh like hell you did." The girl merely says as she looks down at him again.

"What are you talking about? What about Niska? Won't this put him in more or less a killing mood?" Riddick asks as he walks down the stairs.

The Captain's thoughts reach her now. Tell her about the sick people, and his intention of being honorable. She begins to applaud, clearly confusing everyone else. "Bravo Malcolm, maybe next time you will listen when the girl says you need more information!"

"Anyone else wanna share with the rest of us?" Wash asks.

"Cargo's medicine needed by the town, I ain't gonna go stealing from folks who have nothin'." Mal says as he and Zoe drag the crates over to the mule and he presses the controls to open the cargo bay doors. "Far as Niska goes, we'll just have to explain to him the job went south when we return the money."

_Shensheng de gaowan_. She didn't hear them…she was too…preoccupied. But now she hears them loud and clear. And they're coming up the cargo ramp.

"You wanna explain, now's your chance." Wash says as he points to Crow and several others walking into Serenity.

XXX

Riddick's POV

_Taikong suoyou de xingqiu saijin wo de pigu. _Go figure Niska's men would find us.

"You didn't make the rendezvous." The rather large bare chested man says as he walks into the cargo bay.

"Ran into a few complications here Crow." Mal says as he walks forward slightly.

Crow does not look happy, but who would be with a name or face like his. "You were thinking of taking Mr. Niska's money and his property, maybe."

"Ah, interestingly, neither." Mal says.

"I don't understand." Crow says. Man must be dumber than he looks to not get what Mal's telling him.

"Yeah, look. Here's what it is. Deal's off." But Crow still can't get it through his thick skull. "We changed our minds." Mal says as simply as he can.

"You entered into an arrangement with Mr. Niska…There is no mind changing."

Oh I'm going to enjoy where this is going. I look over to River who simply nods her head affirmative, and we both begin to creep towards the seven men standing in the front.

Mal laughs nervously now. "I'm afraid that's where you're wrong. We just... we can't take this job, so you just relax. We'll get you all the money Niska gave us up front, you return it to him, and we'll call it even."

Crow shakes his head now. "There is no even."

"Is that right?" Mal says as his hand begins to inch towards his holster.

Unfortunately for Mal, Crow is faster, and he throws a knife into his shoulder.

XXX

River's POV

The piano notes filter through the air and the stage is set for the dancer and her maestro. She relishes this time, her body briefly tenses in anticipation and then relaxes into the dance she knows so well.

She takes two steps and rounds into a high kick, connecting with a man's jaw, and using the momentum of the kick to bring her closer to him. She quickly pulls a knife from her leg strap and slices him across the throat. He slumps to the floor a moment later.

Orpheus has dispatched of one of the henchman with a series of swift jabs to his stomach with a blade, and there is a pool of blood beginning to form on the cargo bay floor where the body lies.

Two down, four to go…

Zoe wounds one of the henchmen by shooting him in the thigh, and he holds his leg in attempt to stop the bleeding. He is the weakest threat right now and the girl does not bother with him.

Again, she throws a high kick to nearest henchman's face, breaking his nose, and blood begins to rush down his face. He screams in pain throws a wild punch at the girl which she easily dodges and spins under his swing while grabbing his spare pistol. She then shoots him in the back and he falls to the ground.

She looks across to Orpheus and he has finished with the last of the minor minions. That just leaves Crow, who has pinned Captain Daddy to the floor in a chokehold. She smiles and stalks towards the two, preparing to strike. But just as she is about to bash his head with the pistol a shot rings out and Crow falls to the ground in pain.

She looks up to see Jayne, barely cognizant, holding the smoking gun.

"Nice shot." Captain Daddy says as he gets to his feet.

He speech is still slurred but audible. "I was aiming… for his…head."

XXX

When Mal manages to get over his shock at how far Jayne was off from his intended target he brushes himself off a little and walks towards Zoe to begin loading the crates.

"You and I will take the crates back on the mule. 'Bit can you and Riddick deal with…this?" He says as he looks around the room.

"Affirmative. Monetary funds will be returned and the situation explained." She says as she takes the money from Mal's outstretched hand.

"Shiny." He says as Zoe and he climb in the mule and drive off into the night.

XXX

River's POV

"How do you want to play this?" Riddick asks her after the two remaining men have been bound and secured.

She thinks for a moment and then smiles. "Crow will not listen to reason…let us show him what happens to a bird that tries to cripple Serenity."

A dark smile begins to creep over his face. "Go tell Wash to start us up."

XXX

Riddick's POV

We move them outside and sit the smaller fucker on the ground. River holds a gun at the ready and I walk Crow over near the port side engine and have him kneel on the ground.

"This is all the money Niska gave us in advance. Bring it back to him; tell him the job didn't work out." I say as I hold up the money. He spits at me, missing by a few inches. Girl was right, he won't listen to reason.

"We'll stay out of his way from here on in. You'd do well to explain that that's best for everyone, dong-ma?"

Crow stands now, standing a good few inches over me. When will they ever learn…the bigger they are…

"Keep the money. Use it to buy a funeral. It doesn't matter where you go, or how far you fly. I will hunt you down, and the last thing you see will be my blade." Crow growls.

"The harder they fall." River says behind me.

I smile and give him a hard kick to the chest that send him right into the into the engine intakes. There's a nice crunching sounds as the bones are broken and his body disposed of.

I turn to River. "Take two?"

She smiles and brings the other man towards me.

"Oh, I'm good. I'm right there with you." He says as he pushes back away from going closer to the engine intake.

"Shiny."

XXX

AN: …And that concludes The Train Job. For those of you who may be hoping Mal gets an earful from River, don't worry, he probably will ;) She isn't one to let that go easily. Anyways, I hope you guys liked it. Feedback is always appreciated. Till Next time =)


	24. Chapter 23 Come on Closer

Thank you to all my faithful readers and the lovely reviewers =) My updates may be a little more irregular from now on (I am starting Law School in August and moving in two weeks) but I promise to continue writing and updating. I have to give a special shout out to LeaFairy124 in this chapter, one your reviews a while back caused a plot bunny in my head, and I have been waiting to use it for a while now ;) Anyways, as always I don't own anything.

Chapter 23 Come on Closer

XXX

"Zoe tell Wash to get this boat airborne, I think I've had quite enough of this planet for today." Mal said as they walked into the cargo bay.

"Yes, sir." She said as she moved to the controls to close up the cargo bay.

"I'll be in my bunk if anyone needs me." He said as he turned and walked out of the cargo bay towards the crew bunks.

He reached the hatch to his bunk without running into any of the crew and slowly descended into his bunk for some much needed shut eye.

However, the sight that greeted him as he turned towards his bead was not what he was hoping for or expected.

"Hello Captain Daddy." River said from her seat on his bed.

XXX

River's POV

"I told ya before I ain't your daddy." She watches him close his eyes and pinch the bridge of his nose._** "…Can't she give me a day before she…"**_

"No, the girl will not wait." She says.

"Bit, I'm tired, I've been stabbed, and…"

"Irrevlevant. What the girl has to say is important and needs to be addressed." She can feel his mind starting to relent now.

"If I let you say your peace will it get you out of my bunk faster?"

"Affirmative."

"Alright then, let's get this over with."

XXX

Mal watches as the small girl in front of him rises from her seat and stands in front on him. A small predatory glint flashes in her eyes.

"Do you like flesh wounds Malcolm?" She asks nonchalantly.

"I'm not lookin' for you to give me one if that's what you're asking."

Now the corners of her mouth turn up into a Cheshire cat like smile. "Would it help her make her point if she did? It can be arranged."

Mal changes tactics now, holding up his ends in mock surrender. "Hey! No call for that!" And slowly takes a step away from her.

If she was trying to make him nervous she was doing a bang up job. Girl's turning out to be a might unpredictable.

"You realize that today's events could have been avoided."

"Bit…"

But she silences him by quickly raising her hand…the fact that said hand also now held a small throwing knife helped too.

"Success in war lies in scrutinizing enemy intentions and going with them. You failed to do this and it will cost Serenity a great deal."

He looks at her with a hint of confusion and anger now. "This isn't war bit."

"That does not mean that military tactics cannot be applied."

When he doesn't protest any more, she continues.

"The odds are never stacked in your favor, you continually run into backstabbing, crooked, and unscrupulous people who will always seek to exploit and ruin Serenity. The fact that you have not been killed yet amazes the girl. But, the odds can be influenced…if you let her be the weapon they made her into." Her smile widens at the last part, something a bit unnerving.

"You really think you're that good, bit?"

"She knows it."

He pauses a moment. "Fine...I'm sorry I didn't listen to you about Niska. That's what you wanted to hear isn't it?" He says with a somewhat defeated slump in his shoulders.

"Affirmative…The girl also requests chocolate for saving your ass." She says as she moves over to climb out of the Captain's bunk.

He grits his teeth. "FINE!"

Just as she is about to close the hatch to his bunk she calls back to him. "Oh and one more thing…" She calls after him, her voice dripping with sweetness. He stops and walks over to look up the ladder, which turns out to be a big mistake.

"Enjoy your soup Captain Daddy."

"What? What s…" But he doesn't have time to finish as a bucket of cold soup pours onto his head and his bunk hatch slams shut. He can hear her howling with laughter in just outside the hatch.

"That's great, just great." Mal says as he wipes Soup from his face. "I got a gorram vindictive government trained assassin woman on my boat, just great."

XXX

…The next morning at breakfast…

When Mal entered the mess the next morning everyone was silent. Unbeknownst to him, River had rigged a vid to capture the soup pouring incident, and they all had seen it. The entire crew, including Riddick and Inara, had been howling with laughter not long before Mal had entered, and it was threatening to bubble over.

"So Capn'," Kaylee said holding in laugher. "How'd you sleep?"

"Fine, little Kaylee…why do you ask?" He said looking at her and then the rest of the crew suspiciously.

"Oh, just curious is all."

Again Mall looked around the room suspiciously. "So…what's for breakfast then?"

"Soup." River said, and that was all it took the entire crew couldn't contain their laughter any longer.

Mal looked around entirely confused. "How the bloody hell do you all know about that?"

"The…girl rigged…. a vid." Jayne said between laughs.

"Oh Capn' you should have seen the look on your face." Kaylee said has she clutched her sides.

Mal sat in silence for a few minutes, glaring at the small girl across the table from him. But with his entire crew laughing around him, it didn't take long for him to dissolve into laughter as well. It took another few minutes before any one of them could calm down, after that they all returned to eating their breakfast and discussing yesterday's events.

"So what do you think Niska will do when he finds out we gave the cargo back?" Wash asked. He was promptly elbowed by Zoe sitting next to him who shot him a look that said 'not now husband.'

"He'll probably have people looking for us." Riddick supplied.

River shook her head in the affirmative. "There is a ninety three percent chance he will seek retaliation against Serenity."

Mal pinched the bridge of his nose, a clear tell he wasn't happy. "Well it's probably best we get the hell out of the Georgia system then."

"Captain, if I might make a request." Inara spoke up.

"Which is?" Mal asked.

"I have received several invitations from clients on Persephone for my services. If you have no other destination in mind I was hoping we could set a course for there."

Again there was dead silence from everyone in the room, except this time it wasn't to hold in laughter.

XXX

River's POV

She can calculate every outcome of this argument. Hear all of the 'you're insufferable' or 'whore' comments each of them will make. See the painted flower storm off in a huff or Captain Daddy sulk off to the bridge. She can also see what they really want…she wants him to refuse for other reasons…he wants her to stay…it's so obvious that it is infuriating. The girl closes her eyes and lets their memories wash over her.

XXX

…Reality shifts…

"…Were we to enter into this arrangement, Captain Reynolds, there are a few things I would require from you. The foremost being complete autonomy. This shuttle would be my home. No crew member, including yourself, would be allowed entrance without my express invitation…"

"…You'd get your privacy…"

"…And just so we're clear, under no circumstances will I be servicing you or anyone who is under your employ…"

"…I'll post a sign…"

XXX

"You want me. You want me on your ship."

"Do I?"

XXX

"What are you running from?"

"I'm not running from anything."

XXX

"Oh - one further addendum. That's the last time you get to call me "whore."

"Absolutely. Never again."

…Reality shifts again…

XXX

…An hour later…

River's POV

It ended predictably, the painted flower won, Captain Daddy went storming from the room, and everyone else watched in silence.

They were now twenty nine hours from Persephone…there were twenty two hours until the girl would be able to utilize the bridge. This was…aggravating. The girl does not like waiting, it makes her twitchy. But she could hide it, would bide her time. It was best to keep up appearances anyways.

She skipped towards the cargo bay to begin her daily stretching and exercise. The ape man and Hermes were presently occupying the gym portion of the cargo bay, which was a little bothersome. Oh well, at least she would be amused by Jayne's ineptitude.

"Forty eight…forty nine…fifty…" The ape man counted out loud as he finished bench pressing the weight, Book spotting him and helping to return the weights to the holder. "So like, never?

She just rolls her eyes and walks into the middle of the cargo bay to begin stretching.

"Well, no." Book answers.

Jayne looks shocked. "Not ever never?"

"Some orders allow Shepherds to marry, but I follow a narrower path." Oh if the ape man only knew the truth of that statement Hermes she thinks to herself.

"But, I mean, you still got the urge. They don't... cut it off, or nothin'?"

"Mm, no, I'm more or less intact. I just...direct my energy elsewhere." _**"…like my other skills…"**_

"You mean like masturbating?" She shakes her head to try and clear her mind of the image the merc has put there with his thoughts.

Book looks at him a little more seriously now. "I hope you're not thinking of taking orders yourself."

"Oh, yeah, that'll be the day." Jayne says as he takes his place behind the bar to spot Book.

XXX

…Twenty Five Hours till Persephone…

Riddick's POV

I'm sitting at the dining table with the new guns and blades we collected after the last job went…south. In total there are about four decent hand guns, two rifles, and a handful of blades. Each one lined up with careful precision, waiting to be sharpened, cleaned, recalibrated, or inspected.

"That's an interesting placement." Inara half jokes as she walks by the table towards the kitchen portion of the room.

I don't bother looking up at her though as I sharpen one of the knives. "Every well-bred petty crook knows that the small, concealable weapons always go to the far left of the place setting."

"I'll have to remember that the next time I attend a dinner party with thieves." She says as she puts the teas kettle on the stove.

"Isn't that what you do on a regular basis?" Mal says as he walks into the room.

It's funny, the woman is trained in the art of being submissive and hiding her emotions, but when it comes to Mal, she can't help but get defensive. "My clients are not thieves Mal. They are respectable members of their communities."

"They must be thieves to pay your rates."

"Jealous you just can't seem to raise enough coin Mal? Or maybe you just don't have the stamina."

I roll my eyes behind my goggles. These two are worse than two teenagers the way they bait each other back and forth.

"Is that a challenge Inara?"

"In your pathetic and lonely dreams Malcolm." The whistle for the tea goes off, and Inara snatches it up quickly and leaves the room.

"What'd I say?" Mal asks, surprised she left the room.

"Not getting involved in this." I grumble and continue sharpening the knives.

XXX

…Twenty four hours from Persephone…

Riddick's POV

Jayne wandered in to the mess shortly after I had finished cleaning and sharpening the weapons. He had suggested a game of tall card to kill some time and I had nothing better to do so I agreed. The first game was spent mostly in silence, but gradually he and I started to talk.

"So you really name your guns Cobb?" I ask Jayne as I draw another card.

He takes a swig of his drink and sets it down. "I still don't understand why you don't."

I discard a card. "Cause they're weapons, not people."

"So? People name their ships and what now, why not their guns? I mean saying my Ruger Vaquero single-action .357 Magnum Revolver is a mouthful…so I call her Eleanor. Then there's Angelina, my Compact semi-automatic Smith & Wesson .45 ACP, two Walther P99's, those are the twins Helen and Cassandra, a Stainless Raptor II I call Kimber, and then my Callahan Full-bore Auto-lock…I call her Vera, she's my favorite.""

I look at him for a moment, trying to rationalize how a grown man could actually name the weapons he owns. "Anyone ever tell you you're a strange man Cobb?"

He just shrugs his shoulders. "Occasionally."

XXX

…Eighteen hours till Persephone…

River's POV

She is not happy, waiting does nothing to assuage her calm…she is restless and needs an outlet. Her heavy footsteps echo through the halls as she walks towards the cargo bay, where her maestro is presently.

He is training with the punching bag, trying to release his tension, but it isn't helping. His thoughts mimic hers, he craves violence. His mind is going over all the different ways he could kill a man with the various objects available to him.

"There is a bit of insanity in dancing that does everybody a great deal of good." She says as she watches him try and sate his appetite for violence.

He stops and looks over at her. "That an invitation?"

"Affirmative."

"Same rules?" He asks.

"Negative, the girl wishes for us to use our claws."

"When?"

"Now." And she produces his curved blades and two of her blades from behind her back.

He smiles. "Beautiful."

She hands him his knives and walks over to the center of the cargo bay. "Maestro, if you please."

He moves towards her like a panther stalking its prey in the jungle; each move slow and deliberate.

"First one to draw blood wins." Riddick says.

She acknowledges with a slight head nod, but does not move to make the first strike. They have all the time in the world, why rush the dance they were about to engage in.

The soft little notes swirl and she can feel her adrenaline rising. He moves towards her now, swinging his blade at her face, but she turns, spins underneath, and away from his reach.

…_**Come on closer,  
I want to show you,  
What I'd like to do…**_

She turns her back to him now, as if daring him to move in for an easy strike. He knows better though. She looks back over her shoulder as if to taunt him even more.

"You're going to have to try harder," she says as she spins, her arms twirling out like the blades of a fan, each one holding a sharpened blade.

…_**Hot temptations,  
Sweet sensations,  
Infiltrating through…**_

He takes two steps back, avoiding the blades she holds by mere inches. But as she spins for a third time, he catches one of her blades with his and the action stops her mid rotation.

"You're getting cocky." He says as he twists the blades together a bit more to force her blade from her grasp, and it falls to the metal floor.

She frowns momentarily and then throws a punch towards his jaw. He leans to the left, and narrowly avoids her fist.

…_**Gonna take it slow babe,  
Do it my way,  
Keep your eyes on me…**_

It's a blur now…a blur of limbs, blades, and emotion. For every spin she did, he advanced, for every strike he attempted she countered. It was a beautiful dance, and if anyone had seen them it would have looked choreographed…but it was impossible to tell which one was leading the other.

…_**Rhythmic motion,  
Raw emotion,  
Infiltrating through…**_

Her mind flashes with images of their bodies intertwined; the heat of the memories on her skin. She doesn't know how, but somehow they ended up against one of the walls, each with a blade pressed against the other's throat.

"Stalemate." She says through pants.

XXX

Riddick's POV

Standing there against the metal wall, panting and out of breath, covered in a thin film of sweat the girl looks like a slice of heaven. She smells like cloves and gunpowder, it's intoxicating  
…and it isn't doing anything to help me be any less tense.

I lean his head against hers, my own breath coming out as pants as well. "Round two?" I asks in a gravelly voice and I can feel her shiver. Girl is just as tense as I am.

"The girl…wants…a different kind…of dance."

And I know exactly what kind of dance she means. "Shiny."

Our blades crash to the floor and then my lips come crashing down on hers. I hoist her legs up around me, and her arms instinctively snake around my neck. She bites on my earlobe, and I can barely keep from ripping her clothes off right there. But just as I am about to start pulling clothes off her I hear a yelp behind us.

"GHAA! MY EYES!" Mal screams. "You got a bunk use it!" He yells as he retreats from the cargo bay.

"Well, you heard the man." I say as I throw her over my shoulder and walk towards our bunk.

XXX

…Seventeen hours till Persephone…

River's POV

When she walks into the kitchen later on, disheveled and thoroughly sated, she is greeted with the sight of one very irritate merc.

"You know, my bunk is right next to your's, and the walls ain't sound proof." He says as he scowls at the girl.

"Sex is as important as eating or drinking and we ought to allow the one appetite to be satisfied with as little restraint or false modesty as the other." She says as she grabs two cups to make tea for her and Riddick.

"Yeah, but you scream like a bloody banshee!"He yells at her.

She merely rolls her eyes. "Jealous Cobb? Perhaps you lack the necessary parts to make someone scream; after all…Jayne is a girl's name."

"Well, Jayne ain't a girl! And if you starts in on that girl's name thing, I'll show ya' good and all I got man parts."

"She could kill you with her brain." She says as she takes the kettle off the stove and pours the water into the two mugs. He doesn't say anything, but his mind is working overtime. As she walks out of the door she catches his last thoughts.

"…_**I'd show her, Jayne ain't no girl…I've made plenty o' women scream…Stupid Moony… Could she really kill me with her brain though?..."**_

She laughs as she walks back to her bunk.

XXX

…Fourteen hours till Persephone…

"You think the Captain will give us a couple days leave when we hit Persephone, lamby-toes?" Wash asks Zoe as they sit on the bridge going over the flight plan.

She thinks about it for a moment. "Don't know, but we could all use a couple days' leave."

"Wouldn't it be nice, spend a few days holed up somewhere." He asks idly.

She looks over at him, a playful smile on her lips. "Yeah? Thought you'd get land crazy that long in port."

"Probably, but I've been sane a long while now, and change is good."

She thinks about it a little more now. "Oh, wouldn't mind a real bath..."

"Yeah, and a meal that included some sort of food." Wash says dreamily.

No he has Zoe's attention. "Ooh."

"Just a couple of days lying around, you with the bathing…Me with the watching you bathe."

Zoe smiles. "Well if the captain says it's all right..."

This is not what Wash wants to hear though and he shuts his eyes a moment, quietly pissed. "What if we just told Mal we needed a few days, 'stead of asking him?"

She deflates a little. It's the same argument every time. "He's the captain, Wash."

"Right. I'm just the husband." He deadpans.

"Look, I'll ask him."

"Don't forget to call him 'sir'. He likes that."

XXX

…Twelve hours till Persephone…

Inara sits at her portable cortex terminal, reviewing potential clients. She deletes a few faces, and then selects one which enlarges and begins speaking. The face belongs to a well-dressed but awkward young man.

"I understand your time on our planet is limited, and if you've selected my proposal to hear, then the honor you do me flatters... my honor...and I hope that..."

She shakes her head and smiles. She cuts off the recitation and as she is about to select another face a live vid request pops up. She smiles and accepts the request.

"Now there's the smile made of sunlight."

She blushes. "Atherton, how wonderful to see you."

"Did you get my message? I was extra appealing."

"What a flattering invitation. I had no idea I was arriving in time for the social event of the season." She says will smiling.

"So, you'll accompany me? I ask, heart in my throat. There's a certain offer I'm still waiting to hear about."

As she is about to answer she hears a knock at the door.

"Yes, I imagine there is. I'm delighted to say I'll be there. Now, I'm sorry Atherton, but I have to run."

He smiles. "No, please, I understand. I'll see you soon, bao bai."

Inara disconnects the vid and covers the screen with a nearby drapery. She then gets up and walks to the shuttle door, and finds Mal standing on the other side.

"Oh…hello Captain." She says almost tersely as she retreats into her shuttle.

He follows her in. "I wanted to see if you had any plans we needed to be aware of when we reached Persephone."

She walks over and sits at her dressing table. "As a matter of fact I do, a client has engaged me for several days while we are on Persephone."

Mal is clearly not happy about this. "Well...fine." He says through gritted teeth. "Is he letting you out at all?"

"Actually, we're attending a ball tomorrow night." She says with a smile.

His eyes narrow briefly. "Tell me, do all the men there pay for their dates?"

"Most of the women in there will not be Companions, if that's what you're asking. Perhaps the other men couldn't attract one."

"Hmm. It's sounds like the finest party I can imagine getting paid to go to."

"I don't suppose you'd find it up to standards of your outings. More conversation and somewhat less petty theft and getting hit with pool cues."

He winces; he knows has no come back after that. "Well then, I'll just go let Wash know we'll be staying a few days then."

XXX

…Seven hours from Persephone…

River's POV

The minute the Captain's eyes closed and he faded off to sleep her eyes shot open. She extricated herself from the cocoon of warmth of Riddick and crept up the ladder to the bridge.

This close to Persephone the proximity censors had been activated to afford everyone some sleep, and the bridge was left unattended for an hour or so between the Captain's shift and the time Wash took control. It was a small window, but it was enough.

She sat herself down and quickly pulled up the sub-system folder that held the downloaded copy of Inara's file. The file sprang open before her and she began to read every detail it contained. While most of it was of little use, there were a few interesting little tidbits.

She is older than she appeared, possibly due to designer pharmaceuticals, but that is not listed …she had been trained in advanced fencing and archery, which was somewhat unusual…and several of Inara's clients were high powered members of various government agencies…

But the most curious piece of information that was contained in that file was what wasn't there. Two years after Inara entered her training, there was nothing listed for an entire year. No comments from her superiors, no training schedules, nothing; it was as if she had vanished. It was highly irregular, given the through documentation her file presented.

The girl frowned. She was sure that these were the memories hidden in the music, what the flower kept hidden behind the vault in her mind.

The girl deletes the file…it would not be of any more use. While she has gleaned a few things from this endeavor, it did not provide any satisfactory answers. She retreats back to her room with a scowl on her; the girl is not pleased.

XXX

AN: Hope you all enjoyed this little update. Next time…the beginning of Shindig! Till next time. =)


	25. Chapter 24 Cinderella or Femme Fatale?

Alright, so I ended up getting this done a lot sooner than I thought. I didn't think you all would mind though. Thank you to all my loyal readers/reviewers, it really puts a smile on my face to see how many people are following this story. As always I do no own these worlds, I'm just playing with them for my own amusement. Anyways, on with the show!

Chapter 24 Cinderella or Femme Fatale?

XXX

…Persephone…

Wash had set them down on Persephone a little after 10 am planet time, and Inara had immediately left for her appointment, much to the chagrin of Mal.

Mal requested that River stay on Serenity due to her warrant. She did not think this to be unreasonable and complied with his request; however, she did remind him that he owed her chocolate, again much to his chagrin. Book had volunteered to stay behind as well and keep River company while the others went to procure supplies for Serenity.

XXX

…A few hours later…

Riddick's POV

If I have to carry around these gorram bags much longer, I'm going to shiv the Captain. I'm Richard B. fuckin' Riddick, not a pack animal. And this wool jacket and hood I'm using as a 'disguise' ain't comfortable in the heat of the day on Persephone.

"Oh, look at the pretties!" Kaylee calls from up ahead, and I groan. Girls and shopping are just so…annoying.

"What am I looking at, the girls or the clothes?" Wash says to Zoe who is beside him.

"There's girls?" Jayne says.

"The clothes, please husband."

We're all standing in front of the store window now. Kaylee and Zoe look at the dresses, while Jayne looks at the girls.

"Say, look at the fluffy one." Kaylee says pointing up to a pink monstrosity.

"Too much foofaraw. If I'm going to wear a dress, I'd want something with some slink."

Wash perks up at this. "You want a slinky dress? I can buy you a slinky dress. Captain, can I have money for a slinky dress?" He says as he turns towards the Captain.

"I'll chip in." Jayne says. His smirk betraying his thoughts.

Zoe turns to Jayne. "I can hurt you."

"The only place I seen somethin' so nice is some of the things Inara has."

Oh now she's done it. Captain was just coming out of his foul mood and she had to go and bring up the Companion.

"Well, we best be movin'." I say hoping to avoid the inevitable, but no one listens to me.

"I guess she needs all that stuff, the life she leads." Zoe says.

"Well, sure. Sometimes the customers buy her things. Some real rich men."

Oh now, they gone and done it. Gorram women never know when to shut up.

Mal's irritation is bubbling close to the surface now. "Come on! These ain't feathers I'm toting here, ya know?"

"I like the ruffles. Inara gets to wear whatever she wants."

"What are you going to do in that rig? Flounce around the engine room? Be like a sheep walking on its hind legs." Mal yells at her.

She turns and gives Mal a look like he just kicked a puppy. She walks over to where the mule is parked. Wash follows her and Zoe gives Mal a glare.

"See ya on the ship, Captain." Zoe says as she removes the sac from his arms and walks over to the mule.

"Is she mad or something?" Jayne asks me in a hushed voice.

"You really need to work on your people skills Cobb." I say.

And as the three of us are about to start walking back to the ship, we are surrounded by men, all of which have guns drawn. Who'd the Captain piss off this time? That's when a small man in a derby approaches from the side.

"Captain Reynolds. Heard you was in town. Thought we might have a bit of a sit-down."

"Badger, I'd prefer a bit of a piss-off."

"I'm very sorry. Did I give you the impression I was asking?"

XXX

…Meanwhile…

River's POV

After the others had left that morning, the girl suggested a friendly game of chess to keep them distracted while the others were gone. Hermes only agreed to play after she promised not to 'peak' and they had been enjoying the game for the last hour or so.

After much deliberation, Book moves one of his pieces on the chess board. She studies the chess board and makes her move, and settles further into the chair in the common area and sighs.

"Would you like to talk about whatever is troubling you?" He asks without looking up from the board.

"The girl is frustrated."

He moves a piece and looks up at her. "Should I assume it has something to do with Riddick or the Captain?"

She rolls her eyes. "Not everything has to do Orpheus or Captain Daddy." She studies the board and uses her rook to take his bishop. "Check."

He in turn takes her rook, voiding the check. "Those two do seem to cause you the most consternation, so it is not an unfounded assumption."

"Truth…but inaccurate in this particular instance… No, the girl feels as if there is something amiss with the painted flower, and all of her attempts to delve deeper have yielded nothing." She moves her queen forward on the board.

This catches his attention. "You mean Inara?" She shakes her head in the affirmative.

"The girl has observed things. There are things hidden beneath the petals. But what's most troubling to the girl is that there is something…familiar about her…and the girl cannot find what it is."

Book takes a moment to study the board and then takes one of her bishops. "What do you mean familiar?"

"The girl does not know how to explain it. She…" But the girl is silenced by the loud noise over the comm that indicates a wave.

"I better go check on this." Hermes says as rises from his seat and walks towards the bridge.

She leans forward in her chair and quickly moves her queen to take his. "Checkmate." She says to the empty room.

XXX

Riddick's POV

A few minutes later we are seated at some shoddy little table. We had been relieved of our weapons at the door and I'm scanning the room for anything I could pick up and use as a weapon if the need arose. I doubt it would come to that, the little man, Badger, is nothing more than a petty thief who thinks he 'runs' things, but you never know with Mal.

Drinks and food are brought over to the table now. Mal just continues looking at Badger warily. "Seems the last time there was a chance for a little palaver we were all manner of unwelcome."

Jayne takes a sip from the drink. "This ain't bad."

"There's a trick to it: wood-alcohol." Badger says.

I scoff at him. "So we're guests being treated to beverages that make you blind." Mal sets his cup down after hearing the last bit.

Badger looks over at me. "Ahh, so he speaks after all. Nice to know Mal hasn't tamed the great Richard B. Riddick. I thought you were dead though."

"Yeah, you and everyone else." I suppress a growl in the back of my throat and begin eyeing the teacup in front of me. Death by teacup would fit this fucker.

"Am I missing something here?" Mal says clearly confused.

"Your boy here is very popular Mal, one of the verses' most wanted, or was. Surprised he didn't mention it."

"No he didn't." Mal says. "Are we going to have a problem here Badger?"

"No, no problem at all, if anything I'll send more business your way knowing you have capable crew now."

I chuckle. "Nice to know I won't have to kill you too."

Mal is quick to cut off any other threats and get things back to the matter at hand, why the fuck we are here. "So what is it you need Badger?"

"There's a local, but the name of Warrick Harrow. Got some property he wants to sell off-planet...fetch a high price."

Mal's interest peaks just a tad. "The local powers won't let him sell off-world."

"It's a conundrum. What my man Harrow needs himself is a smuggler. Willing to cut you in on it."

Mal looks at him suspiciously now. "Why me? You have access to ships. You could do it yourself."

"He won't deal with me direct. He's taken an irrational dislike."

"What happened? He see your face?" I ask.

Badger glares at me. "He's a quality gent. Nose in the air like he never wun gwo pee. Don't find me respectable. But you…Malcolm Reynolds, now I figure you got a chance."

"You backed out of a deal last time. Left us hanging."

"Hurt our…feelings." Jayne says between mouthfuls.

"Had a problem with your attitude is why. Felt you was...what's the word?" Badger says arrogantly.

"Pretentious?" Jayne supplies. Mal looks at Jayne as if he's surprised to learn Jayne knows a word with that many syllables.

"Exactly!" Badger says as he snaps his fingers together. "You think you're better than other people."

"Just the ones I'm better than. And that very quality is the one I think you're placing value on today."

"I'm placing value on the fact that stick up your _pee goo_ is about as large as the one Harrow's got."

"How would you set up a meet, man that won't deal with you?" I ask.

"I know a place he'll be. Safe place. Using some new-tech gun scans. High-class too. Wouldn't let me in there. You might slip in. Course you couldn't buy an invite with a diamond the size of a grapefruit, but I got my hands on a couple."

There's a small chuckle around the table at the man's Freudian slip. He catches on quickly though.

"Of invites you wankers! You want this meetin' or not?"

"Well then it seems like we have ourselves an interesting business opportunity." Mal says.

XXX

…Back on Serenity…

Book sits down in the pilot's seat on the bridge and pulls up the message that had been received. It's a forwarded message from one of his old accounts, which could only mean one thing. He quickly enters his old codes and then connects to Mr. Universe's moon.

"I take it you found something Mr. Universe." He says as soon as the man's face appears on screen.

"Indeed…your little friend is…quite interesting Derrial, quite interesting. I have to say I haven't had so much fun since I manipulated the software in flight school."

Book chuckles at this comment. "I take it the security system was not too much of a challenge then?"

Mr. Universe smiles, "You know me Derrial, you can't stop a signal, everything goes somewhere and I go everywhere. Security feeds are a traipse to access, and firewalls bend at my magnificence. The Alliance keeps quite intricate records, your little friend was quite a prize to them, and her records were some of the best I have seen. Do you know what it is you're carrying?"

"I have some idea, but I'm sure these records will shed more light on that as well."

"They've already been uploaded to your account. Oh and by the by, if your ever around my parts…I would love to meet her. I bet the old vids they have on her do her no justice."

"I'll keep that in mind. Again, thank you old friend." He closes the wave feed and begins to download River's file. As he begins printing out the file, he hears River clear her throat behind him and he turns to look.

XXX

Riddick's POV

"How many tickets?" Mal asks.

"Four." Badger replies.

Now that's interesting. "Why so many?" I ask.

"Figured the Captain here might be tempted to do something to jeopardize the deal, thought if he had a few of his crew along with him they might be able to…hold him back as it were."

Jayne and I both chuckle a little… looks like he knows the Captain well enough. Mal just send both of us a glare.

"Now I take it this is a mighty fancy party, and since you need us so bad Badger, we'll be needin' some cashy money to look the part."

"I figured you'd say that," he says as he tosses over a small bag. "There's enough in there for some decent threads."

"Shiny, well if we're done here." Mal says as he gets up to leave.

XXX

River's POV

"She did not want to intrude on his conversation." She says from the doorway. "You lost by the way."

He smirks a little at this. "Mr. Universe probably would have liked it if you did, he mentioned wanting to meet you…I think he has a bit of crush on you after seeing your files...And I figured it was inevitable. After all, chess, like mathematics and music, is a nursery for child prodigies."

"Strange little man." She says as she walks over to the papers that are being printed. "But quite capable she sees."

"One of the best I ever came across in my work." He says as he watches her skim over the first few pages.

Without looking up she sits in the other chair. "How did you meet him?"

"Don't you already know the answer to that?" He asks mildly amused.

Again without looking up she answers. "You gain perspective from listening…that and I like to hear your stories instead of plucking them from your head."

He smiles. "I had been called in to investigate a breach in one of the Alliance's top flight schools. While there was nothing obviously wrong with the system, a security measure had been tripped. I traced it back to a student, who apparently manipulated the school's software to make himself the best student. I have to say it was some of the best hacking work I had ever seen, so instead of reporting the wrong doing, we established a working relationship if you will."

The girl chuckles a little. "Wash would not be happy to know he was cheated out of that honor."

"They went to the same school?"

"Affirmative." She turns and grabs a few more of the pages that have been printed. "They knew each other, but not well."

"It really is a small universe after all." Book says with a sly smile.

The censors for the cargo bay light up now, and book quickly pulls up the back vids to see what it could be.

"Looks like the others are back." He says.

"The sunshine has a cloud hanging over her." The girl remarks.

"Something happen?"

She shakes her head, not surprised at the waves of anger that she can feel radiate off Kaylee. "Captain Daddy was rude."

"I'll just go see if they need a hand with unloading things." Book says as he gets up and walks off the bridge, leaving the girl to her reading.

XXX

…Serenity's Cargo Bay…

"Stupid mean Captain." Kaylee says as she pulls one of the bags off the mule.

Wash sighs. "Kaylee I'm sure he didn't really…"

"Yes he did!" She says as she stalks off to the engine room and past Book who is descending the stairs.

"I take it things didn't go so well." Book says as he approaches the mule.

Zoe supplies the answer. "Captain put his foot in his mouth…she'll get over it though. Kaylee never could carry a grudge."

"Ain't that the truth." Wash says.

"What's the truth." Mal ask from behind the trio, Jayne and Riddick not far behind him.

"Nothing sir." Zoe replies quickly, hoping he didn't over hear too much.

"Where's Kaylee and River? Got a job for them, you too preacher." Mal says as he walks further into the cargo bay.

"River is on the bridge and Kaylee just went up to the engine room, but why me?"

"You'll hear soon enough, I'm just gonna go get the girls." Mal says as he walks by leaving three stunned faces and two indifferent ones in his wake.

"Do I want to know?" Book asks.

XXX

…A while later in the Persephone Markets…

River's POV

"No…Closer…Never…No…" She says as she looks through the racks upon racks of clothing in front of her.

"Come on Riv, Capn' wanted us back soon." Kaylee says from a seat behind her.

"It's not my fault that none of these dresses meet her standards…or that you found your dress so quickly."

"How could I not? It's so pretty!"

"And that it is…but the girl wishes to find something…different."

"What do you mean by different?"

She shrugs her shoulders. "She will know when she finds it."

She continues her search as a little man comes over from behind the counter. "Can I help you find something Miss?"

The girl turns to the man. "Cinderella requires a dress."

The man is clearly confused. "Pardon?"

"She means she's looking for a dress for the party tonight." Kaylee says as she gets up from her seat and walks over to them.

"Well we have many fine dresses here to choose from."

"Yes, they are lovely, but the girl is looking for something…different."

This piques the man's interest, and the girl catches a glint in his eye. "How so?"

"She wishes to look ethereal, but…lethal."

"Ahh a femme fatale, are we." The man says with a smile.

"In a manner of speaking." She replies, while Kaylee stifles a laugh at his accurate statement.

"Come with me, I may have just the dress for you." He says as he walks towards the back of the store and through a door.

She exchanges a look with Kaylee, and then both of them follow the man into the back of the store. They walk past a few sewing machines and people working on dresses to where the man waits outside another door.

"Most of the girls here, they want big poufy dresses, they do not want one of my creations…but I can see you are different," he says as he opens the door.

She can feel the edges of her mouth turn up into a smile as she lays eyes on the dress.

"Perfect."

XXX

AN: Oh this is all kinds of exciting, they are going to a ball! I know some of you will be wondering what River is going to wear, don't worry I will be posting a link to a picture of the dress I envision River wearing in the next update. It took me a good long while to find the right dress, so I hope you guys approve. Till next time. =)


	26. Chapter 25 Totentanz and These Things

Thank you for those who have read and or reviewed. It always amazes me to see how many people are reading this story. I figured many of you would want to see River's dress as soon as possible... =) So as promised...A picture of the dress River wears is on this page, just remove the spaces... (www. beauty is diverse .com/ wp-content/ uploads/ 2011/ 06/ Rosie- Huntington- Whiteley- Burberry- 5 -570 x 474. jpg) As always, I own nothing...but I hope you enjoy my twisted interpretation.

Chapter 25 Totentanz and These Things

…The Ball…

"Atherton Wing, and Inara Serra."The young porter says as Inara and Atherton enter the ballroom, with is terribly genteel and stylish, people are dancing in a very courtly fashion.

As the two walk in Inara turns to a woman standing off to one side and blows her a kiss. "Roberta, it's been too long."

Next she kneels next to an older man seated and sipping a glass of red wine and greats him. "_Lao pung yo, nee can chi lai hun yo jing shen_."

Atherton cannot help but smile at how Inara works the room. "Half the men in this room wish you were on their arm, tonight."

XXX

…Serenity…

Mal is pacing back and forth in the cargo bay. He's dressed very respectably in a coat with tails, a collared shirt, a cravat, and dress pants. Book's outfit is in the same fashion, and Jayne, Wash, Zoe, and Riddick, are there as well, waiting for River and Kaylee to emerge in their dresses.

"What's taking those girls so long to get ready…KAYLEE…RIVER… hurry it up!" Mal yells.

"So why exactly are River and I attending? It seems like Zoe would and Wash would have made a more logical choice." Book asks curiously as he pulls on the collar of his shirt.

Zoe chuckles at this. "Captain knows better than to ask me to wear a dress, regardless of it being slinky or not."

"I don't know lamby toes…you would look awful pretty all dolled up." Wash says as he circles his arms around his wife.

"You want me wearing a slinky dress around all those men?" She says playfully.

"Point taken, no slinky dress."

XXX

Riddick's POV

I can't say I'm too happy about River going out in a dress and me not being there, especially after she refused to let me see this dress when she got back. Girl got us in a heap of trouble the last time she went out in some _go se…_seems like this is just asking for more trouble.

"Well don't you look purdy." Jayne says and I turn around to see what he's talking about.

There stands little Kaylee at the top of the stairs in the pink frilly dress she saw earlier. Her hair has been brushes and curled at the ends, and she has a small amount of makeup on her face…no doubt from River.

She walks down the stairs to where everyone is waiting. "Do I look alright?" She asks somewhat timidly.

"Like a pretty flower." May says. I have to say despite what he says… he sure does act like a father.

"If I weren't a married man I would take you in a manly fashion." Wash says much to Zoe's amusement.

"You'll be beating the boys back tonight _mei-mei_." Jayne says as he gives her a warm hug. I have to say I never quite understood why Cobb never made a move on the little mechanic, but seeing how he reacts to her now about sums it up. He's stepped into the role of her big brother.

Kaylee beams at everyone now. "Thanks, I was a little unsure about the hair and what not, but River did a really swell job."

"Where is she anyways, she's makin' us late. This party is liable to be over by the time we get here."

"She is here." Calls River from behind us.

I turn and look and am not happy with what I see. Unlike Kaylee's frilly thing, she is dressed in a sleek dress that clings to her every curve and dips into a deep v neck front, barely covering her breasts. Her hair is pulled back to allow everyone to fucking see the cut of the dress too. No fuckin' way is she wearing THAT!

XXX

…Back at the ball…

She cocks one eyebrow. "Only half? I must be losing my indefinable allure." She says with a smile.

"Oh, it's not that indefinable." And he leans in to quietly whisper. "All of them wish they were in your bed."

However Inara does not find this comment as amusing as the last and she can feel a slight blush creep onto her cheeks. "I'm looking for the boy with the shimmer wine." She says, hoping to change the subject.

"Oh, she blushes. Not many in your line of work do that. You are a very singular woman. And I find... I find I admire you more and more." Atherton says as he leads her to the dance floor.

XXX

River's POV

All eyes are on the girl as she walks down the stairs. While Zoe, Wash, Book, and Kaylee look at her as if she is the belle of the ball, three sets of eyes hold very…very different emotions. Captain Daddy and Orpheus look upset…Jayne just looks uncomfortable.

"…_**I won't think about her that way… or the fact she can't be wearing and unders in that dress…"**_

Zoe whistles and Wash kind of gapes at her. Mal looks at her as if she is his teenage daughter and has just come out in her first mini-skirt. "Bit…what the hell are you wearing?"

"No fuckin' way!" Riddick says as he walks towards the girl.

She rolls her eyes. "A dress."

"That is not a dress and you know it River!" Riddick practically yells in her face.

She glares at him now. "She spent a great deal of time looking for a dress for the ball, you should be polite and say she looks pretty."

"You do look quite lovely, River." Book offers up hoping to diffuse the situation.

"The last time you wore something like that you ended up with a warrant! AND THAT WAS ON PERSEPHONE!" Riddick barks.

She's angry now. "IRRELEVANT! SHE WILL BE AT A FORMAL BALL! SHE MUST LOOK THE PART!"

"Bit… are you even wearing anything underneath that dress?" Mal asks somewhat skeptically.

"Do you really want to know Captain Daddy?"

That was the last straw for Jayne, who promptly stormed out of the cargo bay. "I'll be in my bunk!" He says as he left.

"See your scaring poor Jayne in that thing." Mal says as his merc makes a quick exit.

"That's it! You're not wearing it, go change." Riddick says as he attempts to pull her hand up the stairs.

She yanks her hand away from him though. "She will not! She has nothing else that is suitable to wear and Captain Daddy needs her there."

"Bit…I ain't too sure about this…"

She flashes him an icy glare now. "Do you remember what the girl said Malcolm? Do not make the same mistake twice."

"Alright that's it, we're late enough as it is, and I am not having her threaten me with bodily harm. We're going." Mal says as he quickly retreats towards the cargo bay exit. Kaylee looks between River and Riddick and quickly follows the Captain out.

"If you leave in that dress, there will be consequences River." Riddick says as he leans forward and whispers to her.

"Promise?" The girl asks him before she turns and walks out the cargo bay doors. She can hear crescendo of Totentanz as she leaves…she just hopes he does not do anything too foolish before she gets back.

XXX

…Back in the ballroom…

Atherton and Inara are dancing together. It is clear that all eyes are on Inara as he Atherton spins and twirls her around the dance floor. Atherton clearly has other things on his mind than just the party though.

"I'm trying to offer you something you know. A life."

"Atherton..."

"You can live here on Persephone, as my personal companion."

She smiles softly. "You are a generous man."

However, he is clearly not happy. "That is not a "yes"."

Inara is somewhat surprised by his hostility. "It's not a "no", either."

"You belong here, Inara, not on that flying piece of _gos se_. You see that, don't you?" He whispers.

Now she is clearly shocked. "Atherton, language."

"What? Piece of _gos se_? But it is a piece of _gos se_." He says a little louder.

As she opens her mouth to say something though she hears the porter announce a name that clearly should not be there. "Miss Kaywinnit Lee Frye and escort."

Inara turns and looks toward the entrance. "Kaylee?"

Mal and Kaylee enter the ballroom, Kaylee looking radiant in the ruffly pink hoop skirted dress.

Again the porter announces a name Inara knows should not be there. "Mister Derrial Book and escort."

That's when Book and River enter the ballroom, and there is an audibly hush around the crowd as the guests catch site of River's dress, it's much more daring than the other girls here.

"Oh, _gos se_." Inara says as she watches them walk in.

XXX

River's POV

It's like Dante's second layer of hell, lust paints the room in red and gold and people do not dance but are blown about to and fro by the terrible winds. Hermes slowly takes her arm and leads her to where the Captain and the sunshine stand.

"Does.. um.. does these seem kind of tight?" Mal asks in reference to his pants. She merely rolls her eyes at his discomfort.

"Shows off your backside. Did you see the chandelier? It's hovering!" Kaylee says as she looks skyward.

"What's the point of that, I wonder?" Book asks aloud as he looks to the chandelier.

"Pretentious snobbery, everything is an illusion here." The girl says. This place reminds her of the parties she was forced to attend as a small child.

…Reality shifts…

She doesn't remember the particular reason for the party…she just knows she was forced to put on another ridiculous dress that her mother had picked out for her to wear. It's some horrible yellow monstrosity.

…_**There is nothing to see here people keep moving on  
Slowly their necks turn and then they're gone  
No one cares when the show is done…**_

She's standing next to Simon, behind their parents, but she doesn't really hear what her father is saying to the crowd that has gathered in their house.

She usually spent the next hour being paraded around for all of the guests to see, like a trained monkey made to perform or some fragile doll to be coveted.

…_**Standing in line and its cold and you want to go  
Remember a joke so you turn around  
There is no one to listen so you laugh by yourself… **_

"Why don't you try and enjoy yourself." Simon asked her when they could steal a moment of privacy.

"It's a lie." She replied.

"What is?"

"This… It's a bunch of sad strangers, and...all the gilded butterflies say it's beautiful because that's what they want to see. But the people are sad, and alone...it's a lie."

…_**I heard it's cold out, but her popsicle melts  
She's in the bathroom, she pleasures herself  
Says I'm a bad man, she's locking me out  
It's cause of these things, it's cause of these things...**_

…Reality shifts again…

She shakes her head to dislodge the memory and takes a breath to clear her mind.

"Oh! Mangoes!" Kaylee says as she moves over to the buffet table.

Mal merely shakes his head and chuckles. "She's liable to make herself sick on all that food. Shepherd would you mind…"

"Not at all Captain." Hermes says as he moves towards Kaylee.

"Okay, help me find our man. He's supposed to be old, kinda stocky, wears a red sash crossways."

"Yes, sir." The girl replies as she begins to scan the room for their mark.

After a minute or two of looking around the room, Mal breaks the silence. "So how angry do you reckon he is going to be with you?"

"Inconsequential, had you not taken the girl she would have had to remind you of our previous conversation," she says as she snatches two glasses of champagne off a passing waiter's tray and hands one to Mal. "Besides…trouble with Riddick just makes things fun for the girl." She says as she raises her glass in silent cheers.

He mimics her movement with his glass and takes a sip. "You know if you push that man enough he is liable to push back harder."

"She is counting on it, Captain Tight-Pants."

"See, I knew these pants were too tight." And she giggles.

XXX

…Back on Serenity…

Riddick's POV

After River left I lost it…I stormed up to our bunk and proceeded to shred every article of clothing that I found to be too…alluring. They now lay in ribbons all over the floor of the bunk. After my little arts and crafts session, I decide to go see what the others are up to. I find Jayne, Zoe, and Wash are playing cards in the common room and I pull up a seat and sit at the table with them.

"Where'd you go, psycho boy?" Jayne asks me.

I smirk and think about how best to answer that question. "I felt like destroying something beautiful."

"Do I even want to know how pissed off River is going to be when she gets back?" Zoe asks as looks at me.

"No."

"Okay then, remind me to avoid the knife wielding girl who will be hell bent on gutting Riddick when she gets back." Wash says without looking up from his cards.

"What are you playing for?" I ask as I look at the little scraps of paper lying around.

"Chores."

"Deal me in next hand."

XXX

River's POV

Despite his earlier comments about Kaylee making herself sick on the buffet, the Captain had found the food too much to resist and had left her to look for Sir Harrow by herself while he indulged himself. Kaylee had come over to where the girl was standing and admiring all of the people on the dance floor.

"Aren't they something. They're like butterflies, or little pieces of wrapping paper blowing around."

"We will all laugh at gilded butterflies." The girl remarks somewhat laconically.

Kaylee turns to her now. "Aww don't be like that River, I'm sure they're nice people. See I'll show you." And she turns and walks over to a group of young women not far from them.

"Oh no, Kaylee," she says as she follows her.

"Hello." Kaylee says to the tall blonde in the front, Banning, the girl plucks from the mind of another girl.

"I don't.. um... have we been introduced?" Banning says with some disdain towards Kaylee.

"Oh, I'm Kaylee, and this is River." Kaylee says as she reaches out and shakes the Banning's hand.

While she may hate the social niceties of these parties, the girl does remember the proper etiquette and proceeds to perform a small curtsy when sunshine introduces her.

"Banning. And this is Destra, Cabott and Zelle."

"…_**who let this bumpkin in…" **_

"…_**they shouldn't be here…"**_

"…_**Look at her horrible pink dress…"**_

"Don't you just love this party? Everything's so fancy, and there's some kind of hot cheese over there." Kaylee says with cheerfulness.

"It's not as good as last year." The girl, Cabott, says.

"Oh really? What'd they have last year?" Kaylee asks enthusiastically.

"Standards."

The girl can feel the sunshine wilt now.

"Come on Kaylee, let's go get another strawberry." The girl says as she tries to avoid any other rude remarks towards her friend.

"By the way Kaylee you ought to see to your girl." Banning says as the girl tries to lure Kaylee away from the evil girls.

But the girl wasn't quick enough and Kaylee turns towards the girls again. "_Shah muh_?"

"Your girl. She's not very good. She made you a dress that looks like you bought it in a store."

Now the sunshine is truly crestfallen. "Oh, I didn't know."

The girl is seeing red, she wishes she had her knives…she wants to ruin this evil girl's perfect porcelain face…

However, her thoughts of revenge are interrupted by an older gentleman. "Why Banning Miller. What a vision you are in your fine dress. It must have taken a dozen slaves a dozen days to get you into that getup. Course your daddy tells me it takes the space of a schoolboy's wink to get you out of it again."

The girl cannot help but smile as she watches Banning stalks off, followed by the other women. Kaylee looks surprised and delighted.

"Thank you, sir, for assistance." The girl says with small curtsy.

"Forgive my rudeness. I cannot abide useless people. Rhett Butler at your service ladies." He says with a small bow towards the girl and the sunshine.

XXX

…Back on Serenity…

"Ante up, gentlemen. Dishes." Zoe says as she deals the cards.

Riddick tosses in a piece of paper. "Dishes."

"Garbage." Jayne says.

"Septic vat." Wash says as he throws in his ante.

Zoe turns over a card. "Tall card... plum. Plums are tall."

Riddick look down at his hand and tries not to smile. "I'll take... two."

"Two. No tall card claim." Zoe says as she deals the cards.

Jayne laughs. "Speaking of garbage, I'll take three."

"So what do you think they are doing?" Wash says. "I'll take two."

"Two."

"Eating steaks off of plates made of solid money, like as anything." Jayne says as he leans back in his chair.

"You think they're dancing? I'm sure that some fancy party like that has to have dancing?" Wash says. "Bet the girls get asked to dance a lot with the way they looked tonight."

And without any warning, Riddick throws his hand on the table and overturns his chair as he storms out of the room.

"Was it something I said?" Wash says as he looks to Zoe, who is just shaking her head at him.

"Yes husband, it was something you said." Zoe says with an exasperated sigh.

XXX

River's POV

After being assisted by Sir Butler, Kaylee had gotten involved in a lively discussion with him and several other mean about engines and ships. Book had joined the conversation not long after it begun, and the girl moved to assist Captain Daddy with the deal.

"You ready bit?" Mal asked her as they were preparing to approach Harrow.

"Always." She says as she takes his arm and they walk over towards Harrow.

"Beg pardon, but would you be Warrick Harrow?" Mal says as they approach the man.

The man turns and looks at them now, a hint of elitism in his aura. "Sir Warrick Harrow. The sash." _**"…youth today, no social graces…"**_

"It indicates lordship." The girl says to the Captain.

"And it's... it's doing a great job."

"River Marie, your lordship." The girl says with a small curtsy, which Sir Harrow returns with a small bow. "And this is Captain Malcolm Reynolds." She says to introduce Mal.

"Charmed." Harrow says as he moves to walk away from the two.

Captain Daddy is quick to make the most of his introduction though. "Sir, I've been led to believe you want to move…." He is briefly distracted by the sight of Inara dancing but a quick elbow to the side gets him back on track. "…some property off-world discreetly."

"…_**Goddamn urchin couldn't keep his mouth shut…"**_

"You're mistaken sir. I'm an honest man." Harrow says suspiciously.

"There is nothing dishonest about selling your goods to people that need them." The girl interjects.

The girl's boldness surprises Harrow a little. "Whom do you represent?"

"Represent isn't exactly the..."

But Harrow isn't buying it and cuts the Captain off. "Don't waste my time."

The girl supplies the information he seeks. "A man they call Badger." This earns her a look from the Captain, which she returns with an eye roll.

"I know him. And I think he's a psychotic low-life."

"And I think calling him that is an insult to the psychotic low-life community. But the deal is solid." Mal says.

XXX

Riddick's POV

I punch the punching bag harder. I want to gut her, I really do. It's unacceptable. I should not be this fuckin' caught up in her. It shouldn't matter… what the fuck… she wears, does, or any… of that crap.

"You alright?" Zoe says from the doorway to the cargo bay.

"Peachy." I say and punch the bag harder.

I can feel her standing there and just watching me, analyzing me. I cast a glance over my shoulder but don't stop circling the bag. "You got something to say, say it."

The question I get surprises me though. "Do you love her?"

Now she's got my attention and I turn to her. "What the fuck kind of question is that."

"I've seen the Captain act the same way, twitchy, edgy at the slightest mention of Inara…so I'll ask you again, do you love her?"

I pause for a moment and then turn back to the bag. "It's none of your damn business Zoe."

She merely shakes her head and leaves the cargo bay.

XXX

River's POV

"…_**What are they doing here?…"**_

She can hear the painted flower approaching with the Goblin King…this will not end well.

"Sorry to interrupt, Sir Warrick, I know you from the club, I believe." Atherton Wing says as he extends a hand to greet the older gentleman.

Inara and the Captain exchange a puzzled look before she decides to introduce them to her client. "Captain, River, this is Atherton Wing, Atherton; this is Captain Mal Reynolds and River, Malcolm's niece."

She can feel the Captain's contempt for the man roll off him in waves. "Pleased to meet ya." He says as he shakes Atherton's hand a little too vigorously. "Inara, I didn't realize you were going to this party."

"It's the only party." She says through gritted teeth.

"And I can see why. How about that floating chandelier? Almost outshines our girl here." He says to Atherton.

There is a spike in the Goblin King's anxiety now. Like the fairytale villan, his mind reeks of possessiveness and anger. She just hope Inara knows the right words to break the spell.

He begins to tighten his grip on Inara's arm, which Mal notices.

"…_**Oh, no he doesn't…" **_

"Ath? Can I call you Ath? Inara has spoken of you to me. She made a point of mentioning your generosity. Given that, I'm sure you won't mind if I ask Inara the favor of a dance?"

"…_**two can play at that game…"**_

Oh shit.

"Of course, but only if I can steal your niece for a dance as well."

"…_**that man lays a hand on Bit inappropriately I'll choke him to death with all that food they got on that table…"**_

Men are such boobs.

"Of course." Captain Daddy says with a false smile plastered on his face.

Mal lead Inara to the dance floor and Atherton is quick to offer his arm to the girl.

"Shall we?"

The girl takes his hand and walks into the center of the dance floor. After a few minutes of quiet dancing Atherton begins to prod her for answers.

"So Captain Reynolds is your uncle." Atherton asks.

"Yes, she…I'm visiting him before I begin university in the fall." She quickly replies.

"…_**I should have damaged that pretty face the last time she was here…"**_

"Tell me…do the Captain and Inara spend much time together?"

"Not any more than one would expect."

She follows Atherton's gazed to Mal and Inara dancing. Mal missteps the dance, and Inara and Mal both chuckle. They are comfortable with each other, laughing and smiling, and she can see where this is headed. Is it too much to ask that the Captain not piss off someone once in a while?

"Excuse me." Atherton says as he stalks over to where Mal and Inara are standing. She follows right behind him.

Atherton tries to forcibly grab Inara's arm and move her away, but she pulls her arm out of his grasp.

"Whoa now. Watch yourself. Ain't no need for hands on." Captain Daddy says growing defensive.

"Excuse me, she's not here with you, Captain. She's mine."

"Yours? She don't belong to nobody."

"Money changed hands, which makes her mine tonight." Atherton spits out venomously. "And no matter how you dress her up she's still..."

She is quick to react though, and stops Captain Daddy's fist a mere inch or two from the Goblin King's face. Atherton doesn't have a chance to finish his sentence as he stands there wide eyed at Mal's fist.

"He has no power over us." River says as she forcibly lowers Mal's fist. "It's all an illusion, and he's nothing more than a pathetic, lonely, excuse of a man."

Her words seem to shake Atherton from his stupor now. "Excuse me?"

She turns to address Atherton now. "You parade her around on your arm as if you actually won her, as if you love her, but you don't…it's all a lie." She casts a glance at Mal and then to Inara. "The Captain isn't a lie."

She watches as Inara's eyes widen ever so slightly at the girl's words, but she doesn't give anything else away.

"I think it's time we left Bit." Mal says as offers the girl his arm. He offers his other to Inara as well. "Inara?" He asks somewhat hopefully.

She casts a cold look to Atherton before accepting the Captain's arm, which infuriates the pompous dandy.

"INARA!" He yells but she doesn't turn around. "You ungrateful wh…"

But he doesn't get a chance to finish as the girl turns around, walks the two steps towards him, and hauls off and slugs him. He falls to the floor from the force of the blow. She turns around to face the Captain and the painted flower, each with mixed emotions on their faces.

While Mal looks at her with a look of utter pride, Inara looks at her with a mix of shock and fear. It's then that she realizes that everyone else in the ballroom is staring at the group, and the onlookers thoughts begin to filter in to her mind.

"…_**did she just…"**_

"…_**no proper…"**_

"…_**How dare she…"**_

"…_**where are the girl's manners?..."**_

"Well, turns out this is my kind of party." Mal says jokingly to Inara.

Inara just turns and glares at him. "Oh, Mal."

"What? Man was out of line."

Atherton is now recovering and stands before the girl, hatred in his eyes. "I accept!"

"What?" Mal says clearly confused.

"She will be fighting him in a duel Mr. Reynolds." Harrow replies from beside him.

"WHAT!"

She shakes her head and pinches the bridge of her nose trying to avoid the eventual headache. She's never going to live this down from Riddick.

XXX

Book and Kaylee are now pushing their way through the crowd to their friends and move to stand next to Inara and River.

"Will she be fighting herself or shall someone else take her place?" The porter standing next to Atherton asks.

"She accepts." River says.

Now everyone begins to scream and yell. "What?" Inara asks surprised.

"Over my dead body." Mal says.

"The duel will be met tomorrow morning at Cadrie Pond." The porter announces and he and Atherton move away from the group.

Kaylee and Book just look confused. "What's going on?" Kaylee asks to no one in particular.

"First off, she'll be put up in lodgings for the night, so she doesn't disappear. I wouldn't blame you, incidentally." He says to River. "Wing may be a spoiled dandy, but he's an expert swordsman. He's killed a dozen men with a long blade. You're niece is the first one that gave him a reason."

"Oh this is a joke." Book says. "No one would expect her punching him to be a challenge."

"Apparently Atherton did... She'll need a second."

"What's that?" Kaylee asks.

"I'll take on the job." Harrow says.

Mal looks about ready to pull his hair out. "What? What's going on here?"

"He'll fight for her if she refuses." Inara says.

"Oh you got to be kidding me." Mal says in disbelief.

"Does that mean you and my uncle are in business Sir Harrow?" River asks.

"It means you're in mortal danger. But you mussed up Atherton's face, and that has endeared you to me somewhat. You might even give him a fight, before he guts you." He says as he walks away.

"Up until the punching, it was a real nice party." Kaylee says.

XXX

AN: Oh Riddick is going to be so pissed! And before all of you start yelling at me that a woman would not be allowed to fight in a duel, I did a little research and while it was very uncommon, women did occasionally participate, there was even an opera singer who was known to be quite a swords-woman. But let's face it… a 90lb girl punch Atherton is much more insulting than having Mal punch him. Anyways, hope you guy's liked the update…till next time. ;)


	27. Nothing At All, I'm Not Okay, Part I

I'm so happy that you guys likes the dress I picked for River! Big shout outs to NightStar28, chacra, , hideher, Rachet, serenitie1, Chibiboku, and hellsmile89 for your recent reviews =) I hope you guys like this chapter as much as the first parts of Shindig. As always, I own nothing, so don't sue the poor grad student please.

Chapter 26 Nothing at All,…I'm not Okay, and Love the Way you Lie Pt I

XXX

Riddick's POV

I'm finishing a set of dead lifts when Jayne walks in. "Here." He says as he hands me a bottle of something. It reeks of engine oil and something sweeter.

"What's this?" I say.

"Kaylee's inter-engine wine, smells bad but it tastes pretty damn good," He says as I take a swig. "It'll also get you fucked up pretty good when you need it to."

I laugh a little at his comment. "Who says I'm not already fucked up?"

"Never doubted that…you're on Serenity after all." He says as he takes the bottle and a swig of the alcohol.

XXX

After a good thirty minutes of heavy drinking both Jayne and Riddick are on their way to drunk, sitting in the cargo bay like a bunch of drunken frat boys, and discussing random little things they had picked up over the years…

"The human body…can be drained of blood in 8 seconds…given adequate vacuuming systems." Riddick says as he takes another swig.

"I take it you know (hiccup)…from personal (hiccup)…experience?" Jayne asks.

Riddick chuckles. "Something like that."

"I once hit a (hiccup) guy in the neck from (hiccup) 500 yards with a _bent (hiccup) scope_."

"Did you know if you mix equal parts of gasoline and frozen orange juice concentrate you can make napalm?" Riddick says with a devilish smile.

"No, I didn't (hiccup) know that…that (hiccup) true?"

"That's right... One could make all kinds of explosives, using simple household items." Riddick says.

"Really...?" Jayne says wide eyed like a child on Christmas day.

"If one were so inclined."

That's when they hear a pounding on the cargo bay doors. "What the hell?" Jayne says.

He opens the door and Badger walks in, holding a now bent crescent wrench from trying to force the door open.

"Your captain's gone and caused some trouble."

XXX

Riddick's POV

Jayne and I began to sober up real quick after hearing what Badger had to say. We called Zoe and Wash to the cargo bay, and Badger told us of how the girl had gone and got herself in a duel because the gorram idiot Captain.

"You got to be fuckin with me." I say as I reflexively tighten my hands into fists, girl just likes to find herself in all kinds of trouble.

"All right, so we just need to figure out how to get them out of there." Wash says more calmly than I would have expected from him.

"Do you know what lodging they're in?" Zoe asks.

Badger chuckles a little now. "This is embarrassing. Some of you seem to be misapprehending my purpose in being here."

Oh that shifty fucker. "You're here to make sure that we don't do what we're keen on doing." I say, growing more and more irritated.

"Penny for the smart man. Persephone's my home. I got to do business with the people here. I don't want it known I brought someone in caused this kind of ruckus. We'll just settle in, till this blows over, one way or the other."

"What's to keep me from gutting you right now? After all, you are in my way from doing what I want."

"Oh, I wouldn't." Badger says with a sly grin.

Jayne looks ready to beat this fucker down just as much as I do. "Why not?" He asks.

He snaps his fingers and in walks several of Badger's thugs with Kaylee and Book. They are both still dressed for the party, and share twin looks of unhappiness.

"Hi." She says flatly as a man cocks his gun behind her.

Gorramit this is just one of those days…and I'm beginning to think it's the only kind of day on Serenity.

XXX

River, Mal, and Inara had been shown to their accommodations by three rather burly looking men earlier. Inara had refused to accompany Atherton and had therefore been shown to the same room as Mal and River.

While Mal had initially tried to make light of the situation it quickly grew on Inara and River's nerves and they had both told him to shut his mouth. River had decided it was best to get some sleep before tomorrow and fallen asleep on the bed some time ago.

"Do you think she'll be alright?" Inara asks Mal while motioning to the sleeping girl on the bed.

Mal just shakes his head a little and smiles. "Well she is a government trained assassin; I think she'll probably give ol'Ath quite a run for his money. Who knows she might even improve his looks some making him all corpsified."

"Oh Mal, how can you joke around at a time like this." She says with mild indignation.

"What? You don't think she'll win?" He says turning towards her.

"I don't know. I'm just worried." She says while looking down at her hands.

A minute or two passes before she speaks again. "I am grateful, you know, for the ill-conceived and high-handed attempt to defend my honor."

"I think Bit there kinda stopped me before I could do any of that."

"Still, you would have."

"Gracious as that is, looking back, I probably should have stayed out of your world." He says a little dejectedly.

"My world? If it is that..." She says with a little chuckle. She turns and looks at him square in the eye now. "I wasn't going to stay, you know."

He brightens a little when he hears this. "Oh yeah? Why is that?"

She shakes her head a little as if thinking of all the reasons. "Oh, someone needs to keep Kaylee out of trouble. And all my things are there." But she takes on a more serious note for her next comment. "Mal, what did she mean when she said you weren't a lie?"

He stiffens a little; he was hoping she wouldn't ask about that bit. He sighs and looks away from her. "What do you think she meant 'Nara."

XXX

…Back on Serenity…

The crew is gathered playing cards in the cargo bay, and whispering conspiratorially. Badger and his henchman are standing about, mostly doing nothing but looking vaguely threatening. Badger is busy slicing up and eating an apple.

"He said not to do anything. They'll join us after she wins the duel." Kaylee says trying to dissuade Jayne, Riddick, and surprisingly Zoe from the plan they are concocting.

"It doesn't hurt to have a contingency plan, Kaylee." Zoe says.

"This is River we are talking about though, not the Captain." Book says as he tries to reason with them, but neither Jayne or Riddick seem willing to listen.

"What we need's a diversion…I say Zoe gets nekkid." Jayne says with a lecherous grin.

Wash who is sitting on the floor with his head on knees answers first. "Not happening."

Jayne tries to rebuttal. "I could get nekkid."

Everyone quickly answers in unison. "No!"

XXX

…Reality shifts…

…_**Let the whole world fall away**__**  
**__**And fall into my arms**__**  
**__**Stay with me**_…

The words float through her mind. They aren't hers…but that doesn't make them any less true.

"When I was still a little child, I admired the hardened convict on whom the prison door will always close; I saw _with his eyes_ the blue sky and the flower-filled work of the fields; I followed his fatal scent. He had more strength than the saints, more sense than any explorer - and he, he alone! was witness to his glory and his rightness."

…_**I don't know how long we've got left**__**  
**__**And so I'm asking you**__**  
**__**To forgive me**__**  
**__**I learn as I go**_…

His memories play in her head like an old earth-that-was movie reel. The bloodshed, the anger, the pain…and the pleasure.

…_**To float far away**__**  
**__**Into silence**__**  
**__**And just watch your face**__**  
**__**And find some kind of grace**__**  
**__**In that quite bliss…**_

Now she stands with him. She doesn't know where they are, she just knows that the men fighting in front of them are standing in their way.

"River?" He asks her. "Remember that favorite game of yours?"

She turns to him now and smiles darkly. "Who's the better killer?"

…_**Will you walk into the grave with me**__**  
**__**Will you leave this empty world**__**  
**__**Soft and wistful**__**  
**__**To sink into the dark, dank earth**__**  
**__**And never reappear would be blissful…**_

"Let's play."

…Reality shifts again…

XXX

"Mal…" Inara says as she moves a hand to his shoulder. He quickly gets up and moves to stand near the window though.

"It's not easy…you know that right?" He asks her, still facing the window and his back to her.

She gets up and moves to stand near him. Tentatively she places her hand back on his shoulder. He turns to face her now.

"I got no solid answers for you, Inara. I got no rudder. Wind blows northerly, I go north. That's who I am. But you…" He says as he looks at her and moves a hand to cup her cheek. "You fog things up. You always have…you spin me about."

She places her hand over his but then slowly backs away. "I…I need time…to think about what you're saying Mal."

He simply nods his head and lets her turn and walk back over to the couch they were sitting on earlier. He just turns back around and looks out the window at the sun peaking up over the horizon line.

XXX

…Back on Serenity…

Riddick's POV

I should probaly slip these chains and open up a few arteries, Badger and his men would be easy pickings…but then I would have to deal with Mal, and that would just tip the girl off to what's coming…

It's time to take a different approach with the girl… Let's see how she deals with me when the chains come off…I am for damn sure getting some answers out of her.

So I'll just sit here…all back of the bus now…waiting.

XXX

…Cadrie Pond at Dawn…

River's POV

Atherton had made sure she was provided more suitable fencing attire, and she wore a white button up, a pair of trousers, and black boots. As the porter came around with a selection of blades Captain Daddy moved closer to her to whisper in her ear.

"You don't have to do this Bit," he says to her in a low hushed voice.

She gives him her signature stare before she picks up one of the lighter blades.

"Let Harrow fight! He's your second after all."

She smiles a little now. "And spoil the deal with him?"

"No deal is worth you dyin' on me. Besides…I don't want to explain to your boyfriend how you got all corpisfied."

"She will make sure to tell Riddick you called him that." The girl says as she walks towards where Atherton, the porter, Harrow, and Atherton's second are now standing.

"Last chance to bow out." Harrow says as she approaches, but she simply shakes her head in the negative.

"If you would both go to your respective marks then." The porter announces as he and the seconds step back.

She can feel them all looking at her...watching…waiting…it's time for her to put on a show. Well if it's a show they want…it's a show they'll get…

…_**Well if you wanted honesty that's all you had to say…**_

"On guard." She says as she raises her sabre.

Atherton is the first to advance. She easily dodges him by stepping to the side and parrying.

…_**I never want to let you down or have you go  
it's better off this way…**_

He attempts another attack, using a lunge to close the distance between them, but again she sidesteps and parries.

"Is it just me or is she toying with him?" She hears Mal ask behind her.

…_**For all the dirty looks, for photographs your boyfriend took.  
Remember when you broke your foot from jumping out the second floor?  
I'm not okay. I'm not, okay. I'm not okay, you wear me out…**_

"What's the matter Atherton? Not as easy as you imagined?" She says taunting him.

Her remark gets the desired effect and he rushes her wildly, she executes a Passata-sotto by dropping a hand to the floor and lowering her body under the Atherton's oncoming blade.

…_**What will it take to show you that it's not the life it seems?…**_

"Where exactly did your niece learn to fence?" Harrow asks Mal.

"Boarding school." Mal replies without taking his eyes off of her.

…_**For the last time, take a good hard look…**_

Now she begins to attack Atherton. She feints, then doubles, and then finishes with a lunge. The blade slashes Atherton's upper arm and he howls in pain and his eyes scream bloody murder.

_**...Forget about the dirty looks, the photographs your boyfriend took.  
You said you read me like a book, well the pages all are torn and frayed out…**_

Atherton runs at her, blade pointed straight at her, but she just stands there.

"MOVE RIVER!" Inara screams from the sidelines.

…_**But you really didn't listen to me because I'm telling you the truth,  
I mean this I'm okay- trust me.**_

At the last second the girl spins and stabs Atherton in the abdomen. The blade pierces his flesh and protrudes out the other side.

…_**I'm not okay. I'm not okay…**_

She comes in close to Atherton's face now, even though he stands a good few inches taller than her he is slowly but surely falling to the ground.

"…_**the little cho yade…"**_

She smiles. "Oh yes,' he thinks, 'Women. With their subversive sexual tactics have no place in this game…It is no accident that the queen is the deadliest of pieces; the manly pawn: the weakest." She says as she pulls the blade from his abdomen and he falls to the floor.

…_**Well, I'm not okay, I'm not o' fucking kay.  
I'm not okay. I'm not okay (okay)…**_

She hears people rush up behind her, feels Mal and Inara place their arms around her, but she refuses to look away from Atherton.

"He's down. You have to finish it. For a man to lie beaten, and yet breathing? It makes him a coward." Harrow says to her.

"It's humiliation." Inara says.

"Hell I say let him live and bleed Bit." Mal says which earns him a sharp look from Inara.

"Let him bleed, maybe he'll learn something from it." She says as she turns away from him, Mal, Inara, and Harrow following her.

"Inara. Inara!" Atherton says calling after them. "You set this up, whore. After I bought and paid for you. I should have uglied you up so much no one else'd want you. Well get ready to starve. I'll see that you never work again." He says from the ground while spitting out blood.

The painted flower turns now, and once again the girl catches something familiar in the way she looks at the fallen man…it's something deadly. "Actually, that's not how it works. You see, you've earned yourself a black mark in the client registry. No Companion is ever going to contract with you, ever again."

Harrow casts one last look of contempt at the young man at his feet. "You'll have to rely on your winning personality to get women. God help you."

XXX

As Inara walks with an arm around River back towards her shuttle Harrow pulls the Captain back slightly.

"You have quite an incredible niece there Captain Reynolds."

Mal looks at the two women walking in front of him and smiles. "Yeah she sure is something huh."

"You would have done anything to convince her to walk away from the duel wouldn't you?" The older man asks.

"I would've, but hell, you saw her, stubborn as a mule that one." Mal says with a chuckle.

"Well if you're willing to protect my property with that same stubborn quality…I'll have it in your hold before midnight." He says as he extends a hand for Mal to shake.

Mal shakes hands with Harrow, smiles and laughs, and Harrow walks off.

Mal runs a bit to catch up to River and Inara and throws an arm around each of them. "Mighty fine shindig."

XXX

As Inara finishes docking her shuttle back on Serenity Mal is the first to exit the shuttle. He is greeted by the sight of his entire crew half asleep on boxes in the cargo bay, and Badger and his henchman milling about.

"Did you ever see such a lazy crew." He says in a booming voice that wakes everyone up from their half asleep state.

"Captain!" Kaylee says with a smile plastered to her face. She runs up and gives him a huge hug as he reaches the bottom of the stairs. Inara and River are not far behind him.

"You get us a deal then?" Badger says as he moves toward Mal.

"I got a deal. Now get off my ship." He says while walking over to where the rest of his crew sits.

"Ta very much for a lovely night, then." Badger whistles and motions to his gang, and they leave Serenity.

"We was just about to spring into action, Captain. Complicated escape and rescue op." Jayne says as he gets up.

Wash holds up his hand. "I was going to watch. It was very exciting."

As River draws closer to the group Riddick stalks over to her and whispers in her ear. "You and I need to have a talk…_dong ma_?" And he turns and storms out of the cargo bay, heavy footsteps echoing in his wake.

"Out of the frying pan and into the fire." River says with mild frustration.

"Want me to talk to him Bit?" Mal asks with fatherly concern.

"No, she can handle this." She says as she leaves.

XXX

River's POV

She sighs…she doesn't need to follow his music to understand where he is going…their bunk. The hatch slams shut in front of her and she opens it and drops into the dark room.

She feels his hands wrap around her throat and push her up against the ladder…She wasn't expecting this…and music floods her mind…

…_**Just gonna stand there and watch me burn  
But that's alright because I like the way it hurts…**_

He's putting more and more pressure around her throat now, and she brings her hands up in attempt to loosen his grip.

"So tell me…why shouldn't I squeeze the life out of you right now…hmm?"

She brings her elbow down hard on one of his arms now and his grip loosens enough for her twist out of his grasp. She quickly grabs one of his knives from on top of the dresser and turns back towards him.

…_**Just gonna stand there and hear me cry  
But that's alright because I love the way you lie…**_

She manages to draw the blade across his upper arm before he picks her up again and slams her against the other wall. This time he doesn't move to choke her though…the blade pressed against your esophagus is a decent deterrent.

…_**I love the way you lie…**_

"Why?"

"Why, what River?"

"Why…are you doing this?" She says as she presses the blade a little harder against his skin.

"**I can only tell you what it feels like, and right now it's a steel knife in my windpipe**." His gravelly voice rasps out.

… _**I can't breathe but I still fight while I can fight  
As long as the wrong feels right it's like I'm in flight  
High off of love, drunk from my hate,  
It's like I'm huffing paint and I love it the more I suffer, I suffocate…**_

"That's not an answer." She says. She can see a tiny drop of blood begin to pool around the blade now.

"It's better than the _go se_ you usually give me." He quickly moves a hand to hers and she allows him to wrench the blade from her grasp. He throws it against the other wall and she hears it clatter to the floor. His other hand has tangled itself in her hair and holds her directly in front of him.

"You once told me you had answers…I want them…NOW." He barks out.

…_**You ever love somebody so much you can barely breathe  
When you're with 'em  
You meet and neither one of you even know what hit 'em…**_

She cannot help but want to taunt him…the petulant little child and his temper tantrum. "Be more specific." She says.

"Don't give me that crap…you know what I mean."

…_**But your temper's just as bad as mine is  
You're the same as me…**_

A minute or two goes by before she answers him. "Not until you tell the girl what you really feel." She challenges.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" He asks skeptically.

"Admit to her what you fear saying out loud...she can see it in your mind…she sees it when she looks through your eyes. Everyone else sees it too…"

…_**But that's alright because I love the way you lie  
I love the way you lie…**_

He growls into her face. "You're a good fuck…nothing else."

"Liar, liar. She can light your pants on fire if you wish?"

"Fuck you River!"

"You have and you enjoy it every time."

He slams her into the wall again and his hands tighten around her arms. "You don't know who the fuck your dealing with little girl."

XXX

AN: Ouch, River and Riddick are going to have some serious bruises after this one. Don't worry there will be some resolution of the whole Riddick wants to kill River thing. Hope you all enjoyed the end of Shindig…till next time ;)


	28. Love the Way You Lie Pt II

AN: WOW! I have to say I have never gotten so many reviews that quickly! Thank you to hana, chakra, , Rachet, Moon FireStar (warning you may scream again after this update), LeaFairy124 (wow talk about a comprehensive review! I am really happy you are enjoying the updates), and hideher for the reviews =) I was going to wait to post this small bridge chapter but your reviews made me speed up that idea LOL. What can I say, I like to keep the readers happy.

Chapter 27 Love the Way you Lie Pt II

XXX

River's POV

She sat in bed, taking in the scene before her…the shredded clothes, the weapons strewn about the room; it was the aftermath of a tornado and volcano.

…_**On the first page of our story, the future seems so bright.  
And this thing turned out so evil, I don't know why I'm still surprised…**_

She looked down to the naked man asleep on his stomach next to her now, his back covered in bloody welts and claw marks; his arms had similar scratches.

She closes her eyes and the memories come flooding back in flashes.

…_**Even angels have their wicked schemes and you take death to new extremes.  
But you'll always be my hero, even though you lost your mind…**_

_She finally pushed him to his breaking point…she knew it was inevitable…their blows no longer missed their mark or fell short…they connected with full force behind them._

…_**Now this gravel in our voices, glass is shattered from the fight.  
In this tug of war, you'll always win, even when I'm right.**_

"_Why the FUCK are you so damn stubborn?" He asked her as she swung wildly at him._

"_YOU ARE ONE TO TALK!"_

…_**Cause you feed me fables from your hand, With violent words and empty threats  
and it's sick that all these battles are what keeps me satisfied…**_

She opens her eyes and trails her fingers lightly up her arms, tracing the many bruises that stained her skin like watercolor on paper. She closes her eyes again and lets her head fall back against the wall…allowing more flashes to come to her.

…_**So maybe I'm a masochist…**_

"_Why do you insist on pushing my buttons River?"_

"_Because you refuse to admit the truth!"_

…_**I try to run but I don't wanna ever leave.  
Til the walls are goin' up in smoke with all our memories…**_

_His fist connects with the wall near her head. "You drive me crazy you know that?" He says as his lips come crashing down on hers. It's not what she wants to hear…but it's close enough…for now…Now…a very different kind of passion fueling their fire._

…_**then after that, shove me, in the aftermath of the  
destructive path that we're on, two psychopaths but we  
know that no matter how many knives we put in each other's backs  
that we'll have each other's backs, 'cause we're that lucky…**_

"_She loves you too." She says under her breath. He doesn't hear her though._

…_**I love the way you lie…**_

_She relented…she knew she was going to have to pick her battles more carefully now…she gave him the answers he was looking for. After they had both recovered enough…she told him what she knew, of the secrets left behind in her mind…_

…_of the calculated attack on Furya by the Council…_

"_They feared your kind…you were a threat to them."_

…_of his heritage…_

"_An Alpha…the strongest of your kind."_

_He had questioned her accuracy, asked if it was possible…if what she was saying was possible._

"_Why would she lie?"_

She moves out of bed now, looking around the floor for any clothing that he didn't shred in his fit of rage, and manages to find a pair of cargo pants. She grabs one of his shirts from the wreckage as well and pulls it over her head as she walks to the ladder leading out of their bunk.

It's late… and she can feel the peaceful sleep of the crew floating around Serenity. All but one mind is fast asleep and she walks towards that particular mind.

He's seated above the cargo bay, which is now filled with Harrow's cattle, nursing a cup of Kaylee's inter-engine wine.

She walks up and sits next to him, dangling her feet over the edge.

"Rough night?" He asks questioningly as he hands her his cup. She can feel his eyes rake over her visible bruises.

She takes a swig and hands it back. "She is quite satisfied."

He squeezes his eyes shut now. Trying to shake the image she conjured in his mind. "I don't need to be hearing that."

She laughs. "The Alliance psychiatrist in the Academy once asked me if I thought sex was dirty. She told him only when it's done right."

Now he just stares at her. Not sure what to think. "Bit are you sure that's healthy?"

She shrugs her shoulders. "It is for people like us."

"How the hell do you figure that?"

"It's an animal thing."

Now Captain Daddy is a little confused. "A what?"

She smiles and shakes her head. "You wouldn't understand."

"You know your all kinds of unpredictable right?"

"She has been told this before…she is beginning to think that she is so psychotic and so mentally ill that if she could tap into that she could do something really interesting."

"Remind me not to piss you off again. I don't need to be the target of your 'something interesting'."

Again she shrugs. "The outcome couldn't be any worse than one of your ill-conceived plans."

"Hey!" He says as he throws an arm around her and pulls her closer to him so he can run the other hand over her head and mess up her hair.

She swats the arm away from her head but allows the other to stay around her.

They sit like this in companionable silence for a few minutes, just looking at the cattle below them, before he breaks the silence.

"You didn't have to say that in front of Inara you know."

She rolls her eyes at his fatherly chastisement. "Someone had to get you two talking…you probably would have waited till the threat of thousands of Reavers were upon us before you said anything yourself."

He chuckles a little now. "Hey give me a little more credit than that."

XXX

The time stamp reads 0300 hours. She is walking down the hallway of the facility, clad in nothing more than a little paper hospital gown. Her hands hang in small fists at her side and the skin of her arms has a noticeable pale blue hue to it.

As she comes to the next corner an orderly appears from one of the rooms, but fails to notice the girl standing in the middle of the hallway. He's too busy skimming over his paperwork. It is a careless mistake on his part, one that probably could have swayed the outcome.

She continues on her way, quickly coming to a door and entering. There are no camera's in that room though, and the next time she appears on screen is five minutes later. There is blood on one of her hands. She pauses and looks up at the surveillance camera and smiles.

"Stop." He says.

The screen freezes and he steps through the holographic image.

"Lovely." He says to no one but himself. He stands there and studies the image before him.

However, he is soon interrupted by a group of people. "Excuse me! No one is allowed in the records room without my express permission." The man in front says. His white coat sets him apart from the two others in his little group.

"Forgive me. I prefer to see the event alone, without bias." He says.

The man looks at the hologram and realizes which incident it is. He blanches slightly. "I need to see your clearance."

"You're right to insist. I know you've had security issues here within the last few days." He places his hand on a screen as he says this. The good doctor looks at the readout, and drops the bluster he once had.

"Apologies. An Operative of the Council will of course have full cooperation….I'm not sure what... I see no listing of rank, or name."

"I have neither. Like this facility, I don't exist. The Council calls me in when...when they wish they didn't have to." He says as he turns back to the doctor before him.

"She was the only success of the Teltain facility. A prodigy — A phenomenon….Until she was able to escape her room and set about destroying the facility and the people that worked there…And someone outside this facility was able to hack through the firewalls and access her files within the last few days."

"It's not that simple." The doctor says.

He eyes the doctor now, almost as if he is prey. "I'm sure it's not."

The doctor looks uncomfortable now. "Why are you here?"

"I'm here because the situation is more complicated than you think." He pauses. "Do you know what your sin is, Doctor Freeman?"

Again, Doctor Freeman blanches slightly. "I... I would be very careful about what you…"

The man merely shakes his head, almost sadly. "It's pride."

He touches a small control stand near the hologram and the holographic image jumps to the Doctor and River in front of a group of council members. The deceased Doctor Mathias, River, and Doctor Freeman stand before them.

"Key members of the council. Key. The minds behind every diplomatic, military and covert operation in the galaxy, and you put them in a room with a psychic."

"She was... she... was out greatest success, our only success after years of…" But he doesn't get a chance to finish before the Operative cuts him off.

"It's come to our attention that River became much more unstable, more ... disturbed, after you showed her off to the council."

"If there was some... classified information that she... well she never spoke of it." Doctor Freeman supplies hurriedly. "I don't know what it is."

"Nor do I. Secrets are not my concern. Keeping them is." He moves to his briefcase now. "You know, in certain older civilized cultures, when men failed as entirely as you have, they would throw themselves on their swords."

"Well I forgot my sword today, so…" And the sound of a sword rings clear through the room as Operative pulls out his sword.

"The council has no further interest in psychics. They represent a threat to the harmony and stability of our Alliance.

"I would put that down right now if I were you." But he doesn't have time to make any other threats as the operative quickly dispatches of the two men standing beside the doctor with grace.

Doctor Freeman attempts to turn and run, but the Operative pins him to the wall. He bunches his fingers and jabs the side of the Doctor's spine. Freeman stiffens, suddenly, agonizingly immobile. The Operative steps back, observes the Doctor's rigid grimace for a moment.

Almost ceremoniously, he drops to one knee and holds the blade out to one side, hilt to the floor and point tilted toward the doctor. The Doctor stares at it in horror as his paralyzed body begins to tip over toward it. He falls onto the sword, turning to look at the Operative as he dies.

"This is a good death. There's no shame in this, in a man's death. A man who's done fine works. We're making a better world. All of them, better worlds." He pulls his sword from the deceased doctor and wipes it off while walking back over to frozen image of River, drugged beyond belief, standing in front of the council.

"Where are you hiding, little girl?"

XXX

AN: Cue the dramatic drum roll please! I mean really, did you guys not expect there to be some consequences after Mr. Universe got her files? Hope you guys enjoyed this little bridge. I won't be following the exact episode arc from here on out, but promise to update soon. Anyways, hope you all enjoyed this…Till next time. ;)


	29. Had Enough and Criminal

AN: Okay, so I am so sorry for the delay in posting this update. I moved across the state and have been without internet for the last week. But I now have internet again so I promise to post more regularly again. Thank you to DraculaLover99, hideher, LeaFairy124, Rachet, chacra, Ookani Sakura, and for your reviews. Anyways, on with the show.

Chapter 28 Had Enough and Criminal

XXX

The next few days were interesting to say the least. Mal and Inara had taken to avoiding each other, not wanting to address what had been brought to light back on Persephone. It was beginning to be ridiculous, and the crew hoped that they would sort it out soon.

While River had skimmed over part of the files that Mr. Universe had sent her, she hadn't had the opportunity to complete study them in detail, and this was something she was hoping to remedy very soon.

Riddick and River had come to an…'agreement' regarding River's choice of wardrobe, after another round of fighting and…making up. She agreed to dress more 'conservatively' by her standards… and he agreed to buy her a new wardrobe since he had shredded the last one.

But the one who was truly happy about the agreement was Jayne…he had taken to sleeping in the common area the last few nights because River and Riddick's 'discussions' had been keeping him awake…and he made sure to bitch and complain about it every chance he got.

XXX

…A few days later on Triumph…

"You know, they walk just as easy if you lead 'em." Mal says as he and Jayne shoo the rest of the cattle out into the corral outside.

"Yeah, but I like smackin' 'em." He says as he walks down the cargo bay ramp. Mal merely shakes his head.

Book walks up to them now, dusting the dirt off the front of his clothing. "Hope this corral's strong enough to hold them. "Shepherd's" a purely figurative title, you know."

Zoe chuckles as she walks up behind the men with Wash in tow. "Next time we smuggle stock, let's make it something smaller."

"Yeah, we should start dealing in those black-market beagles." Wash says as a joke.

"They have smallish droppings?" Mal asked half seriously.

"I believe so, sir." Zoe says.

"Think our contact just arrived." Riddick says as he walks out of the cargo bay and towards the group.

Mal turns and looks at a trio of men approaching the corral.

XXX

River's POV

She sits at the table looking at the stacks in front of her, each of those stacks represents a year that was stolen from her…all of the torture and pain she endured… five separate stacks each at least forty pages thick...

She pulls the first stack towards her and begins reading…

She had known that they opened her skull…but she never knew the extent of what they had done to her. Lobotomized in order to heighten her 'senses'…psychosurgery in order to counteract the effects of the lobotomy… Anterior capsulotomy… Amygdalotomy…the words rolled together…each bringing back pain and anguish.

She shoves the first stack away from her, and moves onto the next….

While the first year had been dedicated to sculpting her mind…the next was dedicated to increasing her aggression levels…stimulants…drugs…something called PAX that she was not familiar with...all with the end game of making her an animal.

She remembers the last three years more so than the first two…training…conditioning…being forced to fight grown men…trained soldiers… injected with narcotic drugs during the fights to further associate killing with euphoria in her mind.

She closes her eyes and it comes back to her.

…Reality shifts…

She's laughing manically after the second injection, she can't help it…everything is just so damn funny. She feels someone slap her across the face, but she's still laughing…

…_**Milk it for all it's worth, make sure you get there first  
**__**The apple of your eye, the rotten core inside…**_

The drag her into the arena…the drugs are flooding her system now…and three armed men walk in. She knows what she has to do.

…_**We all are prisoners, things couldn't get much worse  
**__**I've had it up to here, you know your end is near…**_

"Hello dead people." She says as she charges them.

…_**You had to have it all, well, have you had enough?  
**__**You greedy little bastard, you will get what you deserve  
**__**When all is said and done, I will be the one  
**__**To leave you in your misery and hate what you've become…**_

While she hates what the force her to do, it's all about her survival. It's the only thing she can tell herself to keep from crying herself to sleep at night when they put her back in her cage.

…_**Intoxicated eyes, no longer live that life  
**__**You should have learned by now, I'll burn this whole world down…**_

And then, something happened. She let go. Lost in oblivion. Dark and silent and complete. She found freedom. Losing all hope was freedom for her. The killing no longer tormented her dreams…the drugs no longer made her as maniacal…she became the weapon they sought.

…_**I need some peace of mind, no fear of what's behind  
**__**You think you've won this fight, you've only lost your mind…**_

They gave her the skills…but it came at a price…

"I am River's smirking revenge."

…Reality shifts again…

"RIVER!" Book yells as her mind comes back into focus and her memory fades away.

"Sorry, she got lost." She says as she begins to shuffle the papers back into their respective stack.

"Have you found anything useful in those files yet?" He asks as he comes over and sits at the table with her.

"Negative, while the girl is proficient in many things…understanding the ramifications of experimental medical treatments and developing counteractive measures is above her skill set."

"So there is nothing you can do?" He says with a hint of despondency in his tone.

"No…there might be something…but the girl needs to calculate the odds before she discusses the particulars."

XXX

…Later that night…

While Malcolm Reynolds plans seldom turned out as he hoped, this was one of the rare instances when it had. The settlers had paid the agreed upon price, and even treated Serenity and her crew to a celebration.

The entire crew was now involved in a very spirited party…complete with wine and real food. Somehow Jayne and River had gotten into an argument, and in River's alcohol addled mind she thought it best to end the argument by going shot for shot with Jayne. No one seemed to notice until they were about five shots deep, and at that point there wasn't much use trying to stop their little contest.

XXX

"And then we pull off the bonnets and start in with the whole big scary men act." Mal says as he and Inara walk alongside the party.

"Now that is something that would have been terribly funny to see." Inara says as she laughs at mal's story. "So, explain to me again why Zoe wasn't in the dress in that little story you just told me?"

"Tactics, woman. Needed her in the back. 'Sides, those soft cotton dresses feel kinda nice. It's the whole... air-flow."

Inara turns a little wide eyed towards Mal now. "And you'd know that because...?"

"You can't open the book of my life and jump in the middle. Like woman, I'm a mystery." He says while drunkenly posturing to look manlier.

She laughs at the ridiculous pose. "Let's keep it that way. I withdraw the question."

The continue walking for a little while longer, each enjoying the other's company. Eventually Inara excuses herself to get some sleep, and the Captain returns to the party.

XXX

Riddick's POV

I'm more than a little drunk by the time River comes over to where I am sitting and abruptly plops herself down on my lap.

"The girl (hiccup) thinks she (hiccups) may have imbibed (hiccups) too much."

I laugh at her very drunk state. "What do you expect? You tried to keep up with Jayne and your ninety pounds."

"She proved (hiccup) her point (hiccup) though."

"That you can just as drunk as the men…yup you sure did there _bao-bei_."

She nuzzles closer to me now, like a kitten curls up to someone for warmth. "Make the voices stop…they make her head spin…"

I roll my eyes. "Come on then, think you had enough of this party for one night." I say as I stand her up and walk back towards the ship.

XXX

Jayne sits on a wooden log next to the settler, Elder Gommen, by the large bonfire. Elder Gommen is holding a rain stick, explaining its use to Jayne.

"It makes the rain come for eternity. The rain is very scarce, comes only when needed most. And such it is with men like you." He says as he hands the stick to Jayne.

Jayne is quite drunk at this point and looks as if he has been handed the Holy Grail. "This is the most... _you_, friend. You're the guy..." He says as he captures the other man in a bear hug. "I will treasure this."

XXX

Riddick's POV

While the walk back to Serenity is short, the flailing girl that I was trying to corral towards the ship was proving to be a little much in my drunken state.

"**I've been a bad bad girl…I've been careless with a delicate man…And it's a sad sad world  
****When a girl will break a boy…Just because she can…"**

The girl had also taken to singing on the way back as well, but I'm not exactly sure of who is the source of the music.

"**Don't you tell me to deny it…I've done wrong and I want to…Suffer for my sins…I've come to you 'cause I need…Guidance to be true…And I just don't know where I can begin…"**

I manage to steer her into the cargo bay and she takes off towards Inara's shuttle. Great just what I need to be doing…chasing the drunken girl all over the ship.

"Riv…come on the bunks this way."

"**Heaven help me for the way I am…Save me from these evil deeds…Before I get them done…I know tomorrow brings the consequence…At hand…But I keep livin' this day like…The next will never come…"**

She's banging on the shuttle door now, and I'm thinking it might just be best to throw her over my shoulder and drag her back to our bunk.

Inara opens the door after the first few times River's fist hits the door. "River? Is there something wrong?" She says.

"She…she has a question."

"Sorry Inara, I'm just gonna…"

"No! She has a question!" River says like a petulant child as I try and guide her back to the bunk.

"It's alright Riddick…what is it River?"

However, neither Inara or I are prepared for what comes out of her mouth next. "Do you love the Captain?"

"Okay, then… I think we'll be going now." I say as I pick her up and throw her over my shoulder, leaving a very stunned Inara in my wake. She begins flailing her arms and trying to hit my back but I have had enough of her drunken antics.

XXX

Book watches contentedly from a distance as a young woman puts a crown of daises on Mal's head, then gives him a bowl of wine to drink. Mal drinks the wine, smiling broadly at the young woman.

The young woman smiles back and twirls out onto the dance floor. Mal smiles and mouths "flowers" to Jayne, who is sitting next to him. After a moment, Mal and Jayne are pulled out to dance by several young women.

XXX

…The next day…

Riddick's POV

I wake up to the sound of River groaning next to me.

"Uhhh…why…" She says as she rolls over and unceremoniously off the bed.

I erupt into a fit of laughter now. The _gorram_ girl is just too funny.

"_Ai ya! hwai leh!_ Why does her head hurt so much!" She says as she sits up on the floor.

"Probably because you tried to go shot for shot with Jayne. Not one of your more brilliant plans."

"Never again," she says as she pulls the blanket off the bed and onto the floor.

Again, I can't help but laugh. Girl can handle knives, guns, and take down plenty of mercenaries…but give the girlie a couple of shots and she turns into a mess.

XXX

Most of the crew of Serenity had dragged themselves back the night before and were up semi-early to prepare to leave the planet. The settlers had been very kind to them and had given them gifts as token of their thanks. As they are finishing preparations Mal walks toward the airlock where Elder Gommen stands.

"Elder Gommen, thank you for the hospitality." Mal says as he shakes the older man's hand.

"We owe you a great debt. I hope our gifts will show our regards."

"Well I don't think Jayne's ever lettin' go of that stick." And both man chuckle.

Zoe's voice can be heard over the comm unit now, "Mal, there's a patrol boat heading into atmo right now."

And Mal lets out a sigh as he turns to the older gentleman again. "Well we gotta fly."

"We'll pray for a safe voyage, and hope to lay eyes on you again 'ere too long, my friend." The man says as he walks off the ship and Mal closes up the airlock doors.

A few minutes later and Serenity is back in the black, and Mal begins storing supplies. He squats down to put away what look like propane tanks into a wire cage when he spots a stowaway.

He jumps back in surprise. "Gaaahhh! Who the hell are you?" He says somewhat angrily.

"What do you mean?" The young woman says.

He pinches the bridge of his nose. "Well, I think I was pretty clear. What are you doing on my boat?"

"But... you know I'm to cleave to you...?"

"To-whubba-who?"

"Did Elder Gommen not tell you?" She asks innocently.

"Tell me what? Who are you?"

"Mr. Reynolds, sir…I'm your wife."

"I'm-I'm sorry…You're my wife?"

"I don't please you?" She asks.

"You can't please me. You never met me."

Mal hears footsteps behind him now and turns to see Zoe and Jayne enter the cargo bay.

Mal looks at her for clarity. "Zoe, why do I have a wife?"

This catches Jayne's attention. "You got a wife? All I got is that dumbass stick sounds like it's raining. How come you got a wife?"

"I didn't." He says to Jayne before turning back to the unnamed woman. "We're not married."

She starts to get a little upset now. "I'm sorry that I shame you."

Mal begins to flail his arms now. "You don't shame me!" He turns to Zoe again. "Zoe, would you get Wash?"

Zoe walks to comm, hits it, and then: "This is Zoe. We need _all_ personnel in the cargo bay."

Now Mal looks panic stricken. "Whoa, whoa. I said _Wash_."

"Captain, everyone should have a chance to congratulate you on your day of bliss." She says with an evil grin plastered to her face.

"There's-there's no bliss! I don't know this girl!" He says rather loudly.

"Then can I know her?" Jayne asks with a lecherous grin before Zoe smacks him.

"You are gonna be cleaning latrines with your face you both don't knock that off."

The rest of the crew comes pouring into the cargo bay now, curious as to why Zoe called them there.

XXX

Riddick's POV

The first thing I see when I walk into the cargo bay is a woman with red hair I never seen before, and I'm more than a little surprised.

"Where's River?" Zoe asks as I walk down the stairs.

"Girl drank herself up a mean hangover…she's still in bed. Who's the new recruit?" I ask as I walk towards where everyone is standing.

"Everybody, I want you all to meet... Mrs. Reynolds." Zoe says with a shit-eating-grin on her face.

Kaylee gasps excitedly while Inara looks less than pleased.

"You got married?" Kaylee screams.

Jayne and I just bust up into laughter now…kinda hard not to help it given the circumstances.

"Well, that's, uh..." Book says floundering for words. "Congratulations."

"We'd always hoped you two kids would get together." Wash says before turning to the Captain for answers. "Who is she?"

"She's no one!" Mal says angrily, which just makes the woman in question start crying.

Kaylee tries to chastise him. "_Captain."_

"Would you stop that?" Mal says as he turns to the crying woman.

"I'm sorry."

Kaylee comes forward and buts an arm around the woman. "Hey, sweetie. Don't feel bad. He makes everybody cry. He's like a monster."

"I'm not a monster!" Mal says to no one in particular. He glares and Jayne and I though cause we haven't stopped laughing, before turning to Wash. "Wash, turn the ship around."

"Can't." Wash says flatly.

"That's an order!"

"Yeah, but can't the Alliance touched down the second after we left, and there's already a bulletin on the cortex about a ship importing cattle without approval. So unless you feel like walking into a big ol'hefty fine, I suggest we continue on to Beaumonde, and _you_... enjoy your honeymoon."

Book turns to Zoe. "Have you got an encyclopedia?"

She nods and then the both depart the cargo bay. Wish I could find some reason to leave too, the woman hasn't stopped her wailing and it's making me irritated.

"This isn't happening." Mal says in disbelief. "Would you stop cryin'?"

"For god's sake, Mal. Could you be a human being for thirty seconds?" Inara snaps at him.

"As one married man to another…" Wash begins before being cut off by the Captain.

"I'm not married!" But this just makes the woman cry more. "I'm sorry. You-you have very nice qualities, but I didn't ever marry you."

"I believe you did. Last night." Book says as he and Zoe return to the cargo bay.

"How drunk was I last night?" Mal asks Jayne.

He merely shrugs his shoulders. "Well I dunno. I passed out."

"It says here…" Book begins reading from the encyclopedia. "The woman lays a wreath upon her intended" – which I do recall - "which represents his sovereignty."

"That was you?" Mal asks as he turns to the woman.

Book continues. "And he drinks of _her_ wine. And then there's a dance, with a joining of hands. The marriage ceremony of the Triumph settlers. You, sir, are a newlywed."

"What's it say in there about divorce?" I ask earning looks of disdain from Kaylee and Zoe.

Now the woman takes off out of the cargo bay.

XXX

AN: I have to say this was one of the funnier chapters to write. Who couldn't see River trying to best Jayne at drinking only to earn a horrible hangover? I for one can. And let's face it, her running up to Inara and asking her if she loves the Captain is only something she would do when she is very very drunk. So Saffron has made her appearance…wonder how this is going to turn out…so many possibilities, but it will have to wait for now… till next time ;)


	30. Web of Lies

AN: Thank you to Moon FireStar, hideher, and for the great reviews. And now on with the show =)

Chapter 29

XXX

After a few more chastising words from the women of Serenity Mal leaves the cargo bay and the rest of the crew to go look for his 'bride.'

"Hello? Woman... person?" He says as he climbs upstairs. There he sees the woman sitting in a corridor quietly crying.

"You all right?" He asks.

She turns big saucer eyes up to him now. "I thought last night during the ceremony that you were pleased."

He scratches the back of his head now, not exactly sure how to handle this. "Well, yeah, last night I was. Had some mulled wine, pretty girl gave me a hat made out of a tree. Nobody said I was signing up to have and to hold."

"Are you gonna kill me?" She asks plaintively.

"What? What kind of crappy planet is that?" He scoffs. "Kill you."

"In the maiden's home I heard talk of men who weren't pleased with their brides –"

"Well I ain't them! And don't you ever stand for that sort of thing. Someone ever tries to kill you, you try to kill 'em right back!" He says as he moves to sit next to her. "Look, wife or no, you are no one's property to be tossed aside. You got the right same as anyone to live and try to kill people. I mean, you know... people that are... That's a dumb planet."

"What will you do with me?"

"Not rightly sure. We're bound for Beaumonde. Decent kind of planet. Might be able set you up some kind of work there."

"I'll not be anyone's doxy." She says with mild indignation.

"I don't mean whoring. I mean the factories and the like. Some ranches, if you're more for the outdoors. Three days before we get there. We'll figure something."

She looks at him longingly now. "I'd be a good wife.

"Yeah, well, I'd be a terrible husband. You got three whole days to figure that out."

"Three days... we'll be together?" She asks hopefully.

"We'll be together on the ship, but not in any…"

"That'll be fine. I'll do for you …or not…as you choose."

"Well. Shiny… Hungry? Kitchen's just through there."

"I'll cook you something." She says as she moves quickly toward the kitchen area.

Mal trails after her. "Well, no, I meant for you."

"I'm a fine cook. Everyone says."

"That's-that's great. What... Hold it. Hold...I ain't never even…"

"My name is Saffron." She says as she exits the corridor.

Just as she is out of earshot, Book steps into the corridor, holding his bible.

"Divorce is very rare and requires dispensation from her pastor. I can send him a wave, see what I can do." Book says flatly.

"I appreciate that…She's a nice girl." Mal says nervously.

"Seems very anxious to please you."

Mal is sensing a lecture now and becoming hesitant to continue the conversation. "Well, that's their way, I guess."

"I suppose so…I'll tell you the same thing I told Riddick shortly after I met him though…" Book begins.

"Oh what's that?" Mal asks.

"If you take sexual advantage of her, you're going to burn in a very special level of hell. A level they reserve for child molesters and people who talk at the theater."

"What…I am not... preacher, you got a smutty mind!" Mal says with mild shock.

"Perhaps I spoke out of turn."

"You may perhaps I'm thinking!"

"I apologize."

Mal looks at him a little more curiously now. "Did you really tell that to Riddick?"

"I thought it needed to be said."

"Huh. Would have figured you talk to River instead of him."

"Oh I tried that first…but she has a way of…convincing people she knows what she is doing." He says with a chuckle.

Mal snorts. "You got that right."

"I'll just go make up a spare room in the passenger dorms then." Book says as he walks away and around the corner. But a moment later he pokes his head back around. "The special hell."

XXX

River's POV

"Uhh…" she says as she moves her hands to clutch her head.

"Bout time you woke up Sleepin' Beauty." She hears Orpheus say from somewhere in the room.

"What happened?" She says as she moves the pillow over her face. It is quickly lifted off of her face though, and her vision is blinded by the overhead lights…stupid jerk.

"You want the long or the short of it?" He asks as he sits next to her on the bed.

"Short please." She says as she rolls over.

"You tried to outdrink Jayne, failed, asked Inara if she loved the Captain, who incidentally got himself hitched last night, and once I got you back here you proceed to pass out."

She rolls over and looks up at him now. "Did she hear you correctly that the Captain got married?"

"Yup."

XXX

…Inara's shuttle…

Inara sits in front of her console, programming appointments. Beaumonde. City of New Dunsmuir. Arrival October 24th. Departure…However she is interrupted by the Captain.

"Can I come in?" He asks from the doorway.

She doesn't bother to turn around to answer. "No."

"See? That's why I usually don't ask." He says as he enters the shuttle.

She sighs and turns around now. "What do you want?"

He sits down on one of her floor cushions now. "Oh, I just... needed a place to hide."

"So I take it the honeymoon's over?"

"Nara, don't be like that…you know I had no clue what was going on. How the hell was I supposed to know that her given me some tree thing and some wine was a marriage ceremony?"

"Your right, it's just…" But she stops short.

He moves closer to her now. "Just what Nara?" He asks.

"I…I don't know."

"Well let me know when you do." He says as walks outside, leaving her be.

XXX

As Mal walks back towards the bridge he is confronted by Jayne…who incidentally is carrying a rather large gun.

"There's times I think you don't take me seriously. I think that ought to change." Jayne says as he approaches the Captain.

"Do you think it's likely to when you come at me with that in your hands?"

But Jayne isn't backing down. "You got something you don't deserve."

"And it's brought me a galaxy of fun, I'm here to tell ya."

Jayne moves forward now and tries to hand the gun to Mal, who just looks at Jayne in confusion. "Six men came to kill me one time. The best of 'em carried this. It's a Callahan full-bore autolock. Customized trigger, double-cartridge thorough gauge…It is my very favorite gun."

Realization hits Mal square in the face now. "What in holy hell? You offering me a trade?"

"A trade? Hell, it's theft. It's the best damn gun made by man. It has extreme sentimental value. It's miles more worthy than what you got."

"What I got? She has a name!" Mal yells.

"So does this. I call it Vera."

"Well my days of not taking you seriously are certainly coming to a middle, that's for damn sure."

Jayne is getting sullen now. "Well, damnit Mal, I'd treat her okay."

"She's not to be bought, nor bartered, or borrowed, or lent. She's a human woman doesn't know a damn thing about the world and needs our protection." Mal says sternly.

"Well I'll protect her!"

"Go play with your rain stick!" Mal says as he walks away from his hired gun.

XXX

…Mal's bunk…

She slips in unnoticed by anyone and immediately pulls a small portable cortex from the ruffles of her skirt. She dials in the correct code and waits for it to connect.

"You got a ship yet?" The man asks her.

"Yes. A Firefly." Saffron replies.

"A Firefly? Those things are a wreck."

"No, this is good."

"It's parts. A lot of cheap parts we'll never unload."

"She'll work dammit!" Saffron says not bothering to hide her irritation. "Look I'm running things here, I'm the one with the access codes and what not, so you will do as I say _dong ma_?"

"Yeah, yeah…just wave us when you're about to clear off and we'll swoop in." The man says as he disconnects the feed.

She closes the cortex back up and slips it back into her skirt. She then takes out a small tube of lipstick and applies it to her lips.

"They'll never know what hit them." She says with an evil smile.

XXX

River's POV

"…_**they'll never know what hit them…"**_

"Daxiang baozhashi de laduzi!" She says as she sits up with a start and scrambles out of bed with more than a little haste.

Riddick just looks on at her a little confused. "Riv…what's going on?"

"Black widow…web of lies…" She says as she throws on a shirt and pants and scrambles up the ladder. She can hear Orpheus's footsteps behind hear as she takes off in a run towards the bridge.

She can hear Wash and Zoe in the middle of a heated discussion.

"Every planet has its own weird customs. About a year before we met, I spent six weeks on a moon where the principal form of recreation was juggling geese. My hand of god…Baby geese. Goslings. They were juggled!"

"Captain shouldn't be babysitting a damned groupie, and he knows it."

"IT'S A TRAP!" She yells when she finally reaches them.

They both turn and look at her now with identical looks of worry on their faces.

XXX

Just as River and Riddick run into the bridge, Mal enters his room from the walkway above. How he missed those two running by is beyond anyone's comprehension, though. He idly begins unbuttoning his shirt as he walks farther into the room. He looks up and is startled to find Saffron in his bed…very naked.

"Hey! You're, uh... uh... well, there you are."

"I've made the bed warm for you." She says.

Mal stands frozen. "It looks, uh, warm."

"And I've made myself ready for you."

"Let's ride right past the part where you explain exactly what that means. Didn't you see you got a room of your own?"

"And I'm to sleep there?" She says with confusion.

"That's the notion. Assuming you're... yeah. Sleepy."

"But we've been wed. Aren't we to become one flesh?"

"Well, no, uh... We're still two fleshes here, and I think that your flesh ought to sleep somewhere else."

XXX

River's POV

"Are you sure?" Zoe asks her after she had explained the errant black widow's thoughts that floated through her mind.

"Positive."

"Do you have a plan then rolling around that brain of yours?" Riddick asks her.

"She is working on it…" She says as she runs to the controls and begins typing in commands to cut the main and auxiliary power to the Serenity's shuttles.

"What did you just do?" Wash asks as he watches the indicator lights for the shuttles come on.

She turns to him with a sly grin on her face. "She set her own trap."

Riddick smiles now, understanding perfectly what she intends to do. "Mind if I take a walk?"

"Not at all."

XXX

"I'm sorry. When we talked I'd hoped, but I don't…" She moves to stand but Mal stops her before any other fleshy bits can be exposed.

"Whoa, hey! Flesh... Listen, Saffron... it ain't a question of pleasing me. It's more a question of what's, um, of what's morally right."

"I do know my bible, sir… On the night of their betrothal the wife shall open to the man as the furrow to the plow. He shall work in her again and again, til she bring him to his full. And rest him then upon the sweat of her breast."

XXX

Riddick's POV

I don't bother to knock as I enter Inara's shuttle. She looks up from her cortex a little surprised.

"Riddick, what's wrong?"

"Captain's new bride is up to something…need your acting skills for a minute or two."

"What?"

"Just do as I say and we'll explain later." I say as I grab her arm and yank her out the door.

XXX

Now he more than just frozen, Mal is completely dumbstruck. "Whoa. Good bible."

"I'm not skilled, sir. Nor a pleasure to look upon…"

"Saffron, you're pleasing." He says as he sits down. "You're... yep, you're all kinds of pleasing. But you and me, we ain't married. Just 'cause you got handed to me by some _hun dan_ don't make you beholden to me. I keep trying to explain…" But he doesn't get a chance to finish as Saffron clocks him over the head with metal bar she had hidden in the pillows.

"Son of a..." Mal says as he falls backward onto the floor unconscious.

XXX

Saffron is running across the catwalk toward a shuttle door. As she reaches for the door, Inara opens it from the inside and steps out, startling Saffron.

"Oh! Are you lost?" Inara asks puzzled.

Saffron slips back into her act. "I'm sorry. I thought the other shuttle was yours."

"It is. I was on the cortex and my screen shorted. This one's out too."

"Looking for customers?" Saffron asks as innocently as she can.

Inara's eyes narrow ever so slightly. "What were you looking for?"

"I don't mean to be rude. A companion's life is so glamorous and strange. I wish I had the skill for such a trade."

"Like to please your new husband?"

Saffron merely dismisses Inara's comment with the wave of her hand. "Oh he'll have none of me. For true I'm somewhat relieved. If I'm to learn of love, I'd like it to be at the hands of someone gentle. Someone who could feel what I feel."

"But Mal said... you-you don't approve of my work."

"Sure'n he said that to keep you from me. I was too curious about you. Ever since I saw you..."

Inara looks at her almost longingly now, playing her part perfectly. "Come to my shuttle."

"You would... you would lie with me?"

XXX

River's POV

"Now Wash." The girl says as she watches the pilot initiate the alarms.

XXX

Overhead, an alarm starts sounding, breaking the tension.

"I guess we've lied enough." Inara says dropping her act.

Saffron does the same. "You're good."

"You're amazing. Who are you?"

"Malcolm Reynold's widow." Saffron says with a sneer.

Inara, slightly stunned, blocks a punch from Saffron. Saffron pushes Inara down violently and runs for the shuttle, shutting the door behind her, strapping in, however she fails to notice the figure lurking in the shadows of the shuttle.

"Where do you think you're going?" Riddick says as he steps out of the shadows and surprises Saffron.

XXX

Inara immediately runs to Mal's room, not bothering to check on what the alarm means. Her only concern at that moment is Mal. She climbs down the ladder into his bunk and sees him lying on the floor.

She runs over to him and immediately starts screaming his name. "Mal! Mal-Mal! Mal moans incoherently.

"Oh thank Buddha." She says as she kisses him in relief.

That proceeds to wake Mal out of his stupor and he lifts a hand to the side of her face.

"Hey now? What did I do to deserve that?" He says as she pulls away, a smile plastered on his face.

Inara just chuckles and kisses him again.

XXX

…Elsewhere in the verse…

"Sir, the files you request are here." A young ensign says as he sets the files in question on the desk.

"Thank you." The Operative says without turning around to face the man.

The man quietly excuses himself from the room and closes the door behind him. It is only then that the Operative turns around and picks up the files.

"Simon Gabriel Tam…" He begins reading.

XXX

AN: Okay, so I know this is not what most of you are expecting out of Our Mrs. Reynolds, and I know it's kinda short…but don't worry…we aren't done with Saffron yet. A rabid plot bunny gave me a great idea for connecting Our Mrs. Reynolds and Trash, so Saffron is going to be sticking around a little while longer. And before you all jump on me for not using the goodnight kiss thing…I thought this ending went better with the expedited romance between Mal and Inara. Anyways…till next time ;)


	31. Change In the House of Flies

AN: I'm sorry it took me a little longer to post this chapter, law school has started and it's a lot of reading, so please bear with me. Thank you to chacra, deathhides, TVlUvEr, Moody-Muse, LeaFairy124, Ookami Sakura, , and hideher for the amazing reviews =) I am so happy you all enjoyed my version of Our Mrs. Reynolds! But like I said, we aren't done with Saffron yet. So without further a due...

Change (In the House of Flies)

XXX

…Serenity's common room…

River's POV

She closes her eyes and takes a breath. Their thoughts and words buzz around her like little insects…but she can't listen to them now, she needs to calculate, to do the math, and to piece together what she can from the broken thoughts.

XXX

Riddick's POV

"She secure?" Mal asks me as I walk into the common area.

"Yeah, she won't be getting out of those ropes anytime soon." I say as I move to stand behind River. Her eyes are closed, but her fingers trace invisible patterns on the table in front of her…her mind is hard at work.

"So what are we going to do about her?" Wash asks cautiously.

"According to River she was planning on killin' us all." Zoe says.

"I vote we space her!" Jayne says as he raises his hand.

"Not a bad idea Cobb." I grumble out.

"We aren't spacing her…yet." Mal says rather loudly. He's holding a frozen protein pack against his head where she hit him and Inara keeps rubbing his back as a small form of comfort.

"We could just call the feds…I'm sure she must have tried this elsewhere, she probably has a warrant for her arrest," Inara supplies.

"Yeah…I'm not too keen on that one." Mal says from beside her. "Any other ideas? Bit you been awful quiet." He says as he looks towards River.

"Shh…" She says her eyes still closed but her fingers tracing the table faster now.

"Did she just tell me to …"

"Shh!" She says again as her hands continue to move about and then suddenly they stop. "_Iacta alea est_. (The die is cast)."

"Okay…what's that mean?" Mal asks.

Now I can't see her face, but the reaction Mal has to the look on her face now tells me plenty.

"She wants to play a game." She says in a rather ominous tone that makes me all kinds of happy.

XXX

Mal walks into the extra shuttle and close the door behind him. There sits Saffron tied to a chair and gagged. He moves over and removes the gag from her mouth.

"Sweetie…there's been some terrible mistake!" She says as she pulls against the ropes binding her arms.

"Can it. Last I remember you hit me over the head with a pipe."

"Marriage is hard work, Mal, I know it... That doesn't mean we should just give up... Sure, we've had our spats. Maybe I made some bad decisions along the way."

"Oh, you are a tweaked one, you are."

She stops fighting against the ropes now and settles back in the chair with a huff. "Alright so I misjudged you, you're not as stupid as I thought…you know I'm sure we could work something out." She tries to come off as seductive but Mal just finds is disgusting.

"Only thing I'm trying to work out is how to get you off my boat…and fast."

"No really! I have the perfect crime lined up."

"Sure you do." He says disbelievingly.

"_Hoe-tze duh Pee-goo! _A million-square job. The big time."

"Odd, but I don't think I'll be losing any sleep over it." He says as he turns to walk out of the shuttle.

She tries flailing again now, trying to get his attention. "I've got the layout, entrance codes, believe me, this practically robs itself. I'm handing you a fortune on a gold platter, sweetheart! Don't you even want to hear the details?"

Mal considers that for a moment as he stands in the doorway of the shuttle before he turns back around. "All right. Tell me more about this job a' yours."

XXX

Jayne, Zoe, Wash, Kaylee, River, and Riddick are all gathered at the dining room table. Presently they're staring open-mouthed at Mal and Saffron, as per River's plan, and Saffron's making her pitch.

"The mark's name is Durran Haymer. He may be one of the biggest collectors of Earth-That-Was artifacts in the 'verse. Guy's got warehouses full of stuff. But his prize piece is sitting in his parlor - an antiquity of unspeakable value: The Lassiter. The original hand-held laser pistol.

One of only two known to still exist. The forerunner of all modern laser technology. Haymer got lucky, picked it up during the war for nothing."

"But it wasn't just luck…Tell them." Mal prompts her.

"Haymer's Alliance. Bio-weapons expert during the war. He'd target neighborhoods with valuables, wipe out every living soul without ever damaging the goods. He's go in, take whatever he wanted."

"Now he's living fat on a private estate on Bellerophon."

Saffron holds up some data disks now. "I've managed to get ahold of his schedule for the next 18 months - a layout of the estate grounds... and every security code for the place." She places the disks on the table, but no one moves to touch them.

"Saffron has a notion we can walk right in there, take The Lassiter right off his shelf." Mal says rather smugly.

However the crew is still unmoving, and continue with the staring. Finally Wash speaks.

"I'm confused..." He says.

However Saffron is quick to cut him off. "You're asking yourself if I've got the security codes, why don't I go in, grab it for myself?"

"No. Actually... I was wondering..." And now he turns his attention to Mal. "What's she still doing on this boat? Didn't she try to kill us? Sell us out to her cronies?"

Saffron merely rolls her eyes. "Please. Nobody died."

"Look. Point is, this ain't no cattle caper. This here's history."

XXX

Riddick's POV

Jayne has a look that could best be described as a mix of constipation and contemplation written across his face, and he finally raises his hand to ask his question. "Okay. I got a question. If she's got the security codes, why don't she just walk in and grab it herself?"

We all kind of stare at Jayne as if he just spontaneously grew another head. It takes a minute for people to come back to their senses, and before Saffron answers.

"Good point. Getting through the door and putting our hands on the Lassiter it's easy. Getting out with it...that's the tricky part."

"It's tagged and coded. Second it passes through the door - alarms, security, feds."

"This isn't a one-woman operation. To do this right, I'm going to need..."

She is cut off by Inara as she walks into the common area. "Idiots."

Everyone turns to look at Inara now, and I notice Saffron getting a might twitchier when she walks in.

"Partners." Saffron grits out.

"Dupes. That's what you'll all be if you trust her."

"Could be that's so. Lord knows ain't none of us here "criminal masterminds." So if you got something better, Inara well we'd sure be willing to hear it."

There is a moment between the two, each holding the other's gaze, refusing to back down but not saying anything. Saffron clearly doesn't hate the tension that's evident here. Finally Inara just turns and walks out the room, leaving a string of mandarin curses in her wake, much to Saffron's enjoyment.

"So. The question remains – how do we get the artifact out without setting off the alarms?"

River reaches for the disk now. "This the layout?"

"Full blueprints of the entire grounds."

"Could be we look hard enough, we'll find a way." Kaylee says as she and River both get up and leave the room.

Mal smiles, that's what he likes to hear. He turns his attention to his first mate now. "Zoe? You ain't said a word. Time to weigh in."

"Take sounds ripe enough. Assuming we can fence it."

"I know a guy on Persephone. Already has half dozen buyers on the bid." Saffron says to quell Zoe's doubt.

Zoe shoots her a glance now. "But Inara ain't wrong…she can't be trusted."

"I ain't asking you to trust her. I'll be with her on the inside the whole time." Mal remarks.

"See there? All you gotta do to be a rich woman, hon, is get over it." Saffron says with a sneer.

Zoe stands now and walks over to Saffron. Before Saffron realizes anything is amiss Zoe hauls off and slugs Saffron in the mouth. She goes down on her ass. Got to say Zoe has a nice right hook.

"I'm in." Zoe says.

XXX

River's POV

They have barricaded themselves on the bridge. The girl does not want the black widow overhearing what they have to say. As the girl and the sunshine begin looking over the blueprints, she can feel the sunshine grow weary.

"Your concern is unfounded." The girl says trying to be comforting.

"I dunno Riv. I mean, are you sure we can do this?"

"The black widow suspects nothing…she thinks she is taking us for a ride. But we have a dirty little secret…we know what she plans to do. Why not take advantage of it?"

"Just seems like a lot could go wrong is all."

"On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero. But not today." The girl says.

"If you say so Riv." Kaylee says as she turns back to the blueprints. It's then that the girl feels the sunshine brighten, and she watches as Kaylee zooms in on part of the blueprint.

"Here!" She said with mild excitement.

The girl looks to where she is pointing, and she feels the corners of her mouth form a smile.

XXX

Riddick's POV

I walk over to Inara's shuttle. I can make out the sounds of Saffron hiding at the other end of the cargo bay and it's time to dangle the bait.

I knock on Inara's shuttle and she promptly answers the door.

"Wash wanted me to tell you we should be on Bellerophon by oh- six. I figure the job should take…"

"Please. I really don't wanna know." She says quickly.

"Least it's your kind of world. Got appointments made?"

"Minute we hit atmo, I'm gone. I booked a few choice clients, should help me get my mind off Mal's descent into lunacy…"

I don't feel like listening to her though so I turn to leave, but she stops me before I get too far.

"Don't let Mal trust her. Everything Saffron is…is a lie. She'll get the drop on him - which as far as I'm concerned is what he richly deserves."

"Please Inara, remember who you're talking to."

Inara just holds up her hands. "Just be careful."

"See you when we're wealthy..." I say as I turn and walk away.

My ears can pick up on the small scuffle of shoes against grating though, and I know that she's been listening….good…everything's going according to plan.

XXX

…Serenity's Bridge the next day…

Riddick's POV

"Bellerophon Estates... Home to the rich and paranoid... gracious living... ocean views..."

"... and state-of-the-art security, including local patrols, and multi- code-keys needed at all entrances and exits..." I say from behind him.

"I gotta say…I'm a little nervous about this one." Wash says as he pilots Serenity closer to the drop point.

"Girl knows what she's doing." I say.

River and I may have our disagreements, we may bitch and scream, but one thing I do know is that the girl knows what she's talking about when it comes to a heist. I mean how could she not with a brain like hers? I smile when I start to think about the whole thing…

…_Flashback to the night before…_

"The parlor with The Lassiter's on the ninth floor. You'll have to disable the display. Won't be any trouble." Kaylee says as she and River stand before us explaining their idea.

"Of course, once you get the goods, you can't take it out the front door, nor the back door, nor any door. Every piece of pretty is tagged for the scanners." River says.

Saffron's growing irritated now, as if she is bothered by having to listen to them. Woman's behavior just makes me want to gut her. "So what do we do?"

"You wanna tell them?" Kaylee ask River with a smile.

But River just waves her off. "It was your genius idea."

Kaylee turns to us once again, proud as ever. "You chuck it in the garbage!"

"Excuse me?" Saffron says questioningly.

"All the estates on Bellerophon use this automated garbage drone system. You hit one little button, and the drone collects the refuse." River says.

"Brilliant…Except for the fact that the drones take the disposal bins straight to reclamation. Thirty seconds after we hit the button, the booty'll be incinerated." Saffron says to disparage the girls.

River is undeterred though. "Not if we reprogram the bin. Give it new coordinates."

"Once I override the standard guidance protocol, I can tell that disposal bin to go wherever we want." Kaylee says.

…

"Riddick, it's time for some thrilling heroics." Jayne says as he pokes his head into bridge.

I walk out of the bridge with a smile on my face. "Showtime."

XXX

River's POV

She feels the shuttle decouple from Serenity and change trajectory for the opposite direction of Serenity. Part of the grand scheme was to have the girl with the painted flower, so that when the inevitable double cross took place, they would be able to locate Captain Daddy quickly.

But the job is not on her mind, she knows exactly how it will end; she has traced every foreseeable outcome…No, her mind is not on the job, it's on the tensions she feels but does not understand why.

"Something the matter?" Inara asks. The girl is not surprised, the painted flower sensed something, she's trained to pick up on the slightest change in behavior.

"No." She says as she concentrates on the landscape they are flying past. Another minute of silence passes between them.

"Yes." The girl finally says.

"Would you like to talk about it?"

"She does not know how to describe it…she has run the numbers, they all add up, the job is solid. She should feel at peace…but she feels something…and she does not know what it is."

XXX

Riddick's POV

"You ready for this?" I ask Jayne who looks more than a little nervous.

"Ah hell let's just get this over with. Jayne says as we pop the hatch to the exterior of Serenity.

We can feel the wind wiping around us as we poke our heads out of the hatch. Jayne pulls himself out of the hatch and crawls carefully up the hull and attaches the safety latch of his cable to a rung on the ship. I steady my feet and extend my hand back into the hatch for Kaylee.

Kaylee emerges, wearing goggles and protection from the wind and cold. She hands up the end of her safety harness to me and I clip it in. She then hands me a tool kit and we begin to crawl towards where Jayne now sits. The bin is just overhead.

"All right! We're planted!" Jayne yells into his comm as we make it to him. "Take her up."

Serenity rises up and we can now clearly see the control panel on the drone.

"That's good! That's good! Hold 'er steady. Hold 'er there." Jayne says as he hands me the comm.

Kaylee, pops open her mobile tool kit, and hands an electric screwdriver to Jayne. Jayne gets to his feet with great care…and reaches up to the control panel side of the trash bin. It's all very precarious now as he sets to work on the panel, removing the face of it...

But he manages to pull off the front panel of the control mechanism, and sets about removing the innards. He hands the motherboard down to Kaylee, who begins to work on it.

Kaylee hands the jerry-rigged motherboard to me while she looks for another tool. She finds it and I hand her the motherboard back so she can finish her work.

"Okay! She's set!" She says as she hands it to Jayne. It's hard to hear her though over the roar of the wind. "Careful! It's hot!"

Jayne nods, starts to replace the innards. Serenity rises up a few inches, closing the distance between the bottom of the drone and Jayne's head.

"Gorram it, Wash! Hold her steady!" I bark into the comm.

I relax a little when Serenity dips ever so slightly, and Jayne gets a bit more "head room." He continues to work but his hands are getting awful close to the damn live wires Kaylee warned him about.

Kaylee sees it too. "Jayne! The dyna-ram's live!"

But he can't hear what she's saying over the wind. And the next thing we know Jayne's hand lands on one of the live wires and he gets shocked, knocking him out. He falls and lands hard on the top of Serenity and starts sliding. I instinctively grab him and hold him steady. Gorram _hun dan_ should have listened.

XXX

River's POV

They had set down in the desert not that long ago. By her estimates they should just be reaching the Lassiter now. They are sitting in the back portion of the shuttle now; Inara had suggested tea as a way to calm River's nerves. They are enjoying tea in companionable silence…when it hits her…her hand starts to shake and she hears the tea cup shatter on the floor.

"River…what's wrong?"

…Reality shifts…

Her hands are still shaking…except instead of Inara's shuttle she's back…back in her worst nightmare. It look different from the last time she was here…the lights hang precariously from the ceiling…the dirt and grime has built up.

…_**I watched you change, into a fly  
**__**I looked away, you were on fire…**_

She can hear it in the distance…faint, and barely noticeable, but she hears it and starts walking down the hallway. It grows louder with every step that she takes and now she's running down the hallway.

_**..I took you home  
**__**Set you on the glass…**_

She's frantic now…like Alice trying to find her way…she's lost…but this isn't Wonderland.

…_**I pulled off your wings  
**__**Then I laughed…**_

She rounds the corner and she sees it…sees the door she's looking for. She goes to it and her hand trembles as she hesitantly turns the knob.

…_**I look at the cross then I look away  
**__**Give you the gun blow me away…**_

That's when she sees him, her beloved brother…Simon…he's bound, bloodied, and kneeling before a man who is turned away from her. The man does not turn around as he speaks. "We've been expecting you River."

…_**You changed  
**__**You changed  
**__**You changed  
**__**I'm home...**_

…Reality shifts again…

She feels someone holding her, rocking her back and forth. She hears someone crying…and it takes her a minute to realize it's her.

"Shhh, shhh, it'll be okay." Inara says as she tries to comfort the girl.

XXX

Mal and Saffron have made it to the parlor now and open the door to the room as quickly as possible. They duck in and Mal is amazed at what he sees. The room defines opulence. Beautiful furnishings, expensive art on the walls. Memorabilia of Earth-That-Was fills the room. This room alone cost millions to decorate

"_Shun-sheng duh gao-wahn_."

And on the mantel, in the proper place of honor: sits the Lassiter.

"Let's get to work..." Saffron says as she steps forward.

"Yeah." Is all Mal gets out as he is that dumbstruck by the room.

Mal and Saffron set down their flower displays, and approach the Lassiter. Mal takes a small aerosol can from the flowers and sprays in front of the Lassiter; a force field becomes visible for a moment. He reaches into his flowers again and pulls out a mini- tool kit. He pulls out an allen-wrench to open panel under the Lassiter.

"Where's the trash chute?" He asks over his shoulder as he works.

"We passed it in the vestibule." Saffron says as she keeps watch. Her eyes widen slightly now. "Wait! Shh! Someone's coming..." She says as she runs toward Mal.

Mal quickly shuts the panel, and moves away just as Duran Haymer, the master of the house, enters the room, freezing both Mal and Saffron. He looks from one to the other, in shock.

He turns to Mal now. "You..."

And Mal holds his breath and waits.

"You found her...!" He says as he moves to take Saffron in his arms. "You brought back my wife!"

Now Mal was expecting a lot of things…but he wasn't expecting this.

XXX

AN: Okay so please don't shiv me for the cliffy (hides behinds something solid to avoid the knives being thrown at her). Many of you had been asking about Simon and I couldn't think of a more perfect way to bring him into the story. Anyways, hope you guys enjoy the twist…till next time ;)


	32. No One Believes Me

AN: Thank you all for those who read and review. LeaFairy124 (your reviews always put a smile on my face), Chibiboku (don't be so sure ;D), Moon FireStar, , Ookami Sakura, and DraculaLover99 for the recent reviews =) I didn't plan on posting this update quite as soon, but I got a reprieve from law school reading and couldn't resist working on the update (which turned in to 3 hours of me writing lol) Hope you all enjoy this update. On with the show!

No One Believes Me

XXX

Durran holds Saffron close to him... His face is away from Mal, while Saffron faces Mal. She looks vexed, though she hugs him back.

"Oh, my dear..." Durran says as he hugs her tighter.

Mal mimes hitting the guy. Saffron shakes her head slightly, no.

"Oh, my own sweet Yolanda..." Duran says with love in his voice. Mal is startled by this and mouths 'Yolanda?' He's more than a little amused.

XXX

Riddick's POV

I manage to drag Jayne's unconscious ass back to the hatch and hand him to a waiting Zoe and Book. They struggle to lower the dead weight of Jayne into the ship.

Book wheezes as they manage to get him back securely into the ship. "Lord…this boy weighs a solid ton."

I chuckle as I watch them staggering down the walkway trying to support his weight, and then turn and head back outside the hatch.

XXX

"Six years..." Duran says with longing in his voice.

"Is that all?" Saffron asks.

Mal can't help but be amazed at how well she goes into character. Inara was right, she's very good.

"From the day they found your shuttle…"

"They set on me at Parth, these awful men..."

Mal feels the need to interject now. "That wasn't me. I didn't know those men..."

"They said they wanted ransom, but they sold me to slavers..."

Again Mal interjects. "Also unknown to me..."

When Saffron or Yolanda, whatever her name is, says this Duran looks almost ashamed at himself. "When you left, I thought... Well, you disappeared the same day as Heinrich…"

She feigns ignorance now. "Heinrich?"

"The security programmer. And he was young, and I saw you two talking and I thought…but after they found his body..."

"They killed Heinrich? Ah! Guess he wasn't useful anymore." Mal says with mock surprise.

"I never stopped looking." Duran says to Saffron.

"I knew you wouldn't," and she even has tears in her eyes now. "That's the thought that kept me alive."

They kiss passionately. Mal looks around, at his nails, at the wall... "Well, that's my cue to skedaddle..." He finally says.

"Do I…"

"I promised him three hundred credits." Saffron says.

"Let me get you the money Yolanda promised you then." He turns to Saffron now. "You won't disappear again?"

"Never." She says as he walks out of the room. Barely a second passes before her loving look hardens.

XXX

River's POV

"River what was that?" Inara asks her after she has managed to calm down.

She does not know how to answer though. She does not even know herself what it was she saw. "She does not know."

"I mean…you were shaking so much I thought…"

She knows what she is afraid to bring up. "No, not Reavers."

Inara lets out a breath hearing that. They sit in silence for another minute before the girl speaks again.

"Do you have any siblings Inara?" She asks even though she already knows the answer. Her file had provided that information.

"No. I don't…Why do you ask?"

The girl looks up at her now. "If you had a sibling…what would you do if you felt like they were in danger?"

XXX

"We gotta move fast." Saffron says as she moves back to the Lassiter.

Mal returns to dismantling of the force field with his allen-wrench. "Yeah, he might come back and hug us in the act." He continues his dismantling.

"You don't know him. He's everything I said he was." Saffron says with some urgency.

"Oh, yeah, he's a killer of men. Why I'll bet he even eats up babies." Mal says sardonically.

"You're wasting time." She barks.

However, he's actually being very efficient while continuing his sarcastic remarks.

"But let's take a breath here…Yolanda. You're sneaking into a place you could walk into as welcome as glad news. What's the math on that?"

"The math on that is you not adding up that Durran Haymer would as soon cut your throat as he would…"

But he cuts her off. "…You would?"

"If possible." She feigns honesty.

"Nope. That ain't it at all. You'da knocked him on the brain, were that the case. You don't want him to know the truth. Unlike all the other… I'm gonna go with hundreds - of men you've married, you actually want this one to think well of you when you've gone."

There is a flash and the force field disappears. Mal reaches in easily and grabs The Lassiter.

Realization dawns on him then. "My god... Could it be I've actually met your real husband?"

She has backed up to her flower arrangement, whips out a small gun at him, furious. "Congratulations. Anything else you want on your tombstone, you piece of crap?"

"Now I'm intruding." Comes a voice from the doorway.

Both Mal and Saffron turn and look at Duran. She puts the gun down, genuinely upset that Durran has busted her.

"Durran... This isn't what it looks like..."

Mal tentatively raises his hand now. "Point of clarification…if it looks like we're stealing your priceless Lassiter, that's what we're doing. Don't ask me about the gun, though, 'cause that's new."

Duran merely sighs. "Well. I appreciate your honesty. Not, you know, a lot, but…"

"Durran, you don't know what he's forced me to…" She starts.

But Duran cuts her off. "Stop. Yolanda, please just stop." There is a terrible sadness in his voice.

And a frantic misery in hers. "Don't look at me like that!"

As her attention is on Haymar, Mal elegantly moves past him, drops the Lassiter into the trash cute just outside the door, and hits the button. He then moves closer towards the flowers he had been carrying earlier.

XXX

Riddick's POV

I'm straining to plug a piece of hardware into the top part of the control panel on the dumpster.

"Wash _gorramit_ keep her steady!" I bark into the comm. The ships steadys out now and I don't have to strain quite as much.

"Almost done. I just got to plug the interface strike-plate in and..."

There's a clacking of machinery from the dumpster, and a light begins flashing.

"That's a pick-up call… How we doing?" Kaylee asks.

That's when we both hear it…the sound of machinery approaching.

"Riddick…"

I fumble with the plate, not bothering to answer her.

"Riddick!" She says again just as I snap the strike-plate into place and duck down quick.

Just as I do the drone slams into place, right where I had been a micro-second before. It attaches to the dumpster with a deafening boom.

XXX

Duran holds his hands up now. "Let's not get all worked up here."

"Are you really so naive? Do you think your life is anything to me?" She says bitterly.

Mal is next to his flower arrangement now, and quickly reaches in and pulls his own gun from it, drawing and pointing at her in a heartbeat.

"All right. No one's killing any folk today, on account of we got a very tight schedule. ..whatever your name is - we'll get on about our…." But she doesn't drop her gun. "DROP IT, NOW!" He says fiercely.

He comes at her as he shouts it, his whole attitude wrought with controlled fury, putting the gun to her head. She drops hers to the floor, knowing he means business, but never takes her eyes off Durran. She has real tears in her eyes now.

"Did you think I was a princess? That I would stay locked up here in the tower? With you?"

"I hoped." Duran says dejectedly.

"You're a rutting fool." She says bitterly.

"How long have you been with him?" Duran asks her as he motions to Mal.

Mal and Saffron reply at the same time albeit with very different answers. "Oh, we are not together."

"He's my husband."

"Well, who in the damn galaxy ain't?" Mal barks at her.

Duran merely shakes his head sadly. "I feel so bad for you."

"Bad for me? I'm not the patsy being stole from. If you had half a brain you'da called the Feds the minute you saw me." She spits out.

"Oh, I did."

And now both Mal and Saffron snap their attention to him and look at him with wide eyes.

XXX

River's POV

"You have a brother?" Inara asks surprised.

"Affirmative. A trauma surgeon, graduated top three percent of his class…brilliant, but…not like her." She adds at the end.

"You mean not a reader."

"Correct."

"And you think he's in danger."

"Yes. She…_I_… saw something, it could have been nothing, a warning, reality, or an illusion…she does not know. She stayed away to protect him…to spare him…but she feels, no knows… he isn't safe anymore."

XXX

They bolt down the glass corridor, the way they came in. Cops appear, coming after them. They push through the door, and end up at looked door. Saffron makes a beeline for the security panel at the opposite the locked door though, and hooks her device onto it and starts working.

Mal braces himself against the door they just came through and looks over his shoulder. "What are you doing?"

"Just give me a second." She says

Mal hears her enabler beep and the door he was just holding locks into place. Another set of beeps go off and the door Saffron is standing near slides open. Saffron runs off.

Mal regards the door and the pounding from the other side. "Good security." He says slightly impressed.

As they are running towards where they left the shuttle they are confronted by two more cops armed with sonic rifles, coming straight at them.

"Show some identification!" The cops yell.

Saffron is already spinning and kicking at the first one. Mal takes on the second one, hand-to-fist-to-face. He easily lays out the cop he's fighting. Then reaches down and grabs the fallen sonic rifle. Spins on Saffron and the cop she's still engaged with.

"Move!" He yells.

She dives out of the way as Mal fires a sonic blast. The second cop is down for the count. Mal tosses the sonic rifle aside. Saffron goes to grab it. Mal grabs her, yanks her from it.

"Nope. Let's go." He says as the continue running towards the shuttle.

XXX

River's POV

She moves to the front of the shuttle now and begins programing the shuttle for launch. Inara is right behind her, studying her as she works.

"She is fine." The girl says over her shoulder.

"River it's okay to let your guard down." The painted flower says as she moves to sit in one of the pilots seats.

"Calling the kettle black." She says to promptly stop Inara from pushing the issue. "We need to go…Captain Daddy wouldn't want us to be late."

XXX

…A few minutes later…

Mal pushes buttons, engages thee autopilot, and heads to the back as he straps on his holster. Saffron sits on a crate, facing away from him, sullenly ignoring the welling in her eyes.

"Had to be tough." Mal says.

"Yeah, have yourself a great guffaw." She snarks.

"I mean it. Six years, knowing he was holding such treasures, and you didn't move on him. I gotta figure that's a job you told yourself you'd never take. Till times got hard enough, and the one line you hadn't crossed..."

She turns to him now, fierce anger in her eyes. "My name's not Yolanda."

"Never entered my mind it was."

She looks away again. Her tone at first is worldly, bitter… but there is clearly more underneath. "I tried. I actually tried. I thought, "This is a decent man. The genuine article."

"A working man, struggling to get by with the barest necessities on his private floating island..."

"Yeah, he had money. I thought it would help. I thought if I had everything then I wouldn't want..."

"Heinrich the Security Programmer?" Mal volunteers.

She laughs. "You know, I'd forgotten his name."

"Addressing the itch of curiousness, you marry him too?"

"You must be loving this."

"Little bit." Mal admits. "I seen you without your clothes on before. Never thought I'd see you naked."

Saffron looks at him now with her tear stained face. "Can people ever change?"

"Depends on the person. I'm guessing the pain of this fades away, you'll just go back to being what you are."

"What is that?" She asks.

He sits next to her. "A brilliant, beautiful, evil double-crossing snake. Cheer up, weepy: you made yourself a boatload of hard cash today. You can question the meaning of life on a floaty island of your own for a while."

"You won't tell anyone about me breaking down?"

He nods. "I won't."

"Then I won't tell anyone how easily I got your gun out of your holster." She says as a smile forms on her lips.

He looks down. "I'll take that as a kindness." He says begrudgingly.

Saffron stands, her gun pointed at Mal's belly. "You just may be the most gullible fool I ever marked. And that makes you special."

Mal stands now. "Well, you got me at barrel's end, who am I to argue. What's your move?"

"We'll be settling down in the desert. Leave you to set a spell. Oh, and speaking of naked..."

Now Mal is angry. "No, now that's just low."

"Kinda evens things out, though, don't you think? Pants."

She cocks the hammer, which makes him hastily start undoing his trousers. "Now, I really don't see the benefit to this. I mean, however I may slip, you're not gonna catch my crew with their trousers down."

XXX

Riddick's POV

We're all on the bridge now, well…all except for Cobb who we propped up in the infirmary. There is a collective sigh of relief, and no one is really saying much as Wash pilots us towards the drop point.

"That's funny…" he says as he begins to examine some of the read outs on the console.

"What is?" Zoe asks.

"She's not letting me turn…she's locked in place." Wash says as he tries to manhandle the wheel to turn.

I chuckle. "I think this would be the double cross we were told to expect."

XXX

"No! No! You dirty, dirty whore...!" Mal screams as the shuttle takes off without him.

He is very much naked and standing in the wasteland of the desert. He moves over and sits his ass down on one of the rocks, sighing to himself.

He chuckles. "Well, River was right about everything except the whole naked part." He says to himself.

XXX

River's POV

In different part of the desert sits the disposal bin; not far from it sits Serenity's spare shuttle. They slowly approach the bin, its lid is open and garbage comes flying out of the bin.

"God. Oh! Where is it...?" Comes a voice from inside the bin. "Oh! It's not here."

"Looking for this?" Inara says as she looks down onto Saffron and holds up the Lassiter for her to see. Saffron's eyes go as wide as saucers.

"Wonder if it works?" The painted flower says as she pulls the trigger. Nothing happens though.

"Oh-well. Still worth a fortune." The girl says with a shrug. "Anyway, these work fine." The girl says as she and the painted flower raise their guns.

"Oh... Honey, you look horrific." Inara taunts Saffron who is now turning as read as her hair in anger.

"What are you doing here?" She spits out.

"Oh. Just our part of the job."

Saffron looks startled now. "What part of the job?"

"You know, I put on the big act, storm away in a huff; then we fly off, wait for you to double cross Mal, beat you to the rendezvous spot and grab the loot before you can get to it."

"What, you didn't see it coming?" The girl asks with a Cheshire cat grin.

Saffron makes a move toward the edge but both Inara and the girl point their weapons at her, the girl cocking her handgun for added effect.

"Uh-uh…You know…the girl is a little disappointed. Some of the crew's performances weren't quite as nuanced as they could have been."

"I thought they might have tipped the fact that we were playing you from the second Mal untied you…Oh, well. Guess not." As she says this, she's set aside The Lassiter and picked up a small remote control. She aims it at the bin, presses a button… and the lid slams shut on Saffron.

"No! You can't do this!" Saffron says from inside the bin.

"You're not going to die, you big baby. The authorities will be here in a few hours to dig you out." The girl says as she slams the butt of her pistol against the bin to shut her up.

She walks to where Inara is perched. "Race you back?" She says with a smile.

"You want to get Mal or should I?" Inara asks as she hops down.

"We should meet Serenity first…the girl has an important matter to look into."

Inara doesn't say anything as they separate. She already knows what the girl needs to find out.

XXX

…A little while later…

River's POV

…_**Have you ever felt  
**__**Something evil  
**__**Lurking around…**_

It wasn't hard to find him. She knew he would be in a Core hospital and within the surgery department. Hermes had been able to locate and hack into the security feeds in Saint Lucy's within a matter of minutes.

…_**You can't call it  
**__**You can't shake the feeling  
**__**Quiet do not make a sound  
**__**But the wind seems to speak  
**__**Something's here in the room with me…**_

He's sitting at his desk…pouring over charts with a meticulous eye. There is no indication he's being held… has been harmed…nothing. But it doesn't change what she feels.

…_**I know that something is wrong here  
**__**I can feel it but no one believes me  
**__**I know that something is strange here  
**__**I can sense it but no one believes me…**_

Book looks at the girl with sympathetic eyes. "He doesn't seem to be in any harm River. Are you sure about this?"

…_**I feel like something is wrong here  
**__**I can sense it but no one believes me  
**__**I'm not crazy hell no I'm not loony  
**__**I'm not insane  
**__**Take a second  
**__**I heard it  
**__**I know it…**_

"She knows it."

XXX

…Meanwhile…

"Yeah... that went well." Mal says as he remains seated.

Inara emerges from Serenity's open ramp now and stops at the sight she sees.

"You call this "going well"?" She asks barely concealing her laughter.

Mal gets up now and walks towards her. "We got the loot, didn't we?"

"Yes, but…" Inara says as she does her best to not glance at his naughty bits.

"Then I call it a win. What's the problem?" Mal says with a smile.

"Should I start with the part where you're stranded in the middle of nowhere or the part where you have no clothes?"

"All according to plan Nara." The both begin walking back to Serenity now.

"Really? I thought the plan was for River and I to act as a failsafe in case everything else went wrong. Like, for instance, if Saffron disabled Serenity and left you for dead."

"Nonsense. You two had a key role to play in this. How sad would you have been if you hadn't gotten to play it?"

"Heartbroken."

"See? All according to plan."

They reach Serenity, where Zoe, Wash, Kaylee, Book, Riddick, and River await. As Mal moves up the ramp they are all barely able to conceal their laughter.

"Wash, take us out of the world. Zoe, contact Brennert and Ellison, see if they'd be interested in fencing a priceless artifact for us." Mal says as he walks past them.

Zoe, Wash, and Book just stand there, staring at his nakedness.

"What?"

Zoe and Wash mutter "nothing," and immediately head off towards the bridge. Book eventually comes to his senses and excuses himself as well. Kaylee runs up and gives the Captain a quick hug before moving to close up the cargo bay doors.

River smiles at Mal. "Good work, Captain Daddy."

His smile turns to a frown now. "How many times are we gonna go through this Bit…I ain't your Daddy!"

"Subjective." She merely says as she waves him off. "She would like to discuss something with you though."

"I'm all ears, speak your mind."

"Maybe you should put some clothes on first."

XXX

AN: And so our time with Saffron comes to an end. Parting is such sweet sorrow LOL. Hope you all enjoyed Our Mrs. Reynolds/Trash. Till next time ;)


	33. Bargained for Exchange

AN: Thank you LeaFairy124, , Chibiboku, Ookami Sakura, Rachet, chacra, rothschild, and DraculaLover99 for the great reviews =) They always make me smile when I read them. I have to say I'm a little surprised some of you didn't pick up on a hint I left you in the last update ;) But you should get where I am going with the story after this chapter. Now on with the show =)

Bargained for Exchange

XXX

River's POV

"No!" He shouts at her as she trails behind him towards the common room. She had just spent the last half an hour talking to Captain Daddy about Simon, and he was being an insufferable _chùsheng xai-jiao de xiang huo._

"But…"

He turns around to face her now, just outside the common area where Riddick, Zoe, and the now awake Jayne are seated. "NO!" He yells again.

"_Liu kuoshui de biaozi he houzi de ben erzi!" _The girl yells in his face as she storms into the room ahead of him.

"HEY! There ain't no call for talkin' about my momma like that!" He says as he follows her.

"Whose momma?" Jayne asks in confusion.

"What are you two going on about?" Riddick asks from his seat at the table. The girl goes and sits next to him.

"Captain Daddy is an insufferable _chùsheng xai-jiao de xiang huo_ who will not listen to reason!"

Mal throws up his hands now. "Oh I'm listenin' to reason alright, my own! I am NOT flying to some Core world to go walkin' into a trap!"

"But we don't know if it is a trap!" She screams in frustration.

"What's going on?" Inara asks as she walks in with Kaylee not far behind. "We heard you yelling all the way from my shuttle."

"Gorram freak's completely off her axel is all." Jayne says.

His interference is not welcome. "_Chur ni-duh_! Man with a girl's name."

"Girly you really want to start that again?"

"SHUT UP ALL OF YA!" Mal screams now, and the room falls silent.

"Now Bit, I know you're all concerned about your brother and all, but we can't just go flying in there. It ain't smart."

"You have a brother?" Riddick asks surprised. "How come you never mentioned this before?"

"It was not relevant." She says with a shrug.

"Mal, really be reasonable." Inara says as she moves over to where the girl is seated.

"I am Nara. What do you expect me to do Bit? Ride in pay a nice social call then get locked up by the feds who come callin'?"

"You don't know that…." She says with a huff.

He cuts her off now. "It's a Core planet, it's spotless. It's got sensors, and where there ain't sensors, there's feds. All Central planets are the same."

But that's when it dawns on her… if he doesn't want to play the noble savior…she'll appeal to the brigand in him.

"She'll pay you." She says, and this gets his attention.

XXX

Riddick's POV

"What do you mean pay him?" I ask. I mean I know the girl has been pullin' in her fair share from the first two jobs, and the money comin' in from the last one, but that wouldn't be enough.

"Bit' I don't think your share is gonna be…"

But she cuts him off. "She…_I_…have a job for you. One that will pay for itself ten times over."

"Hell, I'll listen to her if she's got a job." Jayne says from his seat.

"Alright Bit, you got my attention…what's the job?"

"Medical supplies." She says rather primly.

"Medical supplies? That's it? Hell I thought this was a job not a shopping list." Jayne says.

"Jayne." Mal says in warning. "Care to elaborate Bit?"

"Isoprovaline, Propoxine, and Hydrozepam. At a hospital like the one in Ariel City, they'll have shelves of it. She will tell you what to grab, you can sell it, and whatever the take, it's more than enough payment for what she has in mind."

"How much are we talking?" Zoe asks.

"After expenses? Six hundred to eight hundred thousand platinum. She is unsure…it will depend on what can be set up."

The rest of the crew sits in shock at the numbers that River has just thrown out, can't say I blame them. That's more credits than Mal's little jobs have probably ever pulled. That kinda money on top of whatever we fence the Lassiter for would leave everyone in this room sitting pretty.

"Not to be negative, but, don't the hospital need that medicine?" Kaylee asks rather timidly.

"Government run facility. They'd be restocked in a matter of hours." I answer her. It is a smart plan. Rob the fault, kidnap the brother, all from under the Alliance's nose, hell I'd do it for free. "I'm in." I say before anyone else. This earns me a smile from River.

"He's right. They'll never miss it." Zoe says. "Plus, folks on the rim sure could use it."

Mal just has to rain on everyone's parade though. "You know, it's all very sweet; stealing from the rich, selling to the poor, but you're talking about breaking into a highly secure Alliance facility. How do you on plan getting around security?"

"Everything is available for a price. She is willing to use her share of what we get for the Lassiter to secure security plans and blueprints of the Hospital that her brother works in."

"Yeah, but we haven't even found a fence yet."

"The girl may know someone."

"Who?" Mal asks.

And I realize exactly who she is referring to. Got to say, fucker sure owes us, seems like the least he could do. "Someone who owes us a favor." I say with a chuckle.

XXX

River's POV

"Am I missing something here?" Mal asks to no one in particular.

"Not sure sir." Zoe says as she glances from the now smiling Riddick to the girl.

"Do you think he's gonna be easy to track down?" Orpheus asks the girl.

He's getting excited about the possibilities. The idea of robbing the Alliance right underneath his nose is just too tempting.

"Let's find out." She says as she gets up and exits the room. She can feel them all begin to follow her as she walks toward the bridge.

"Hey? Wait a minute." Mal says but she doesn't listen to him.

"Hey River, what…" Wash says as she walks into the room and goes to the cortex and begins furiously typing in information.

"Did I miss something?" Wash asks Zoe as everyone begins to poor into the room.

She isn't finding what she needs though, and a light bulb goes off in her head. But before she can grab the comm to speak into it Riddick has beaten her to it. "Shepherd, girl needs a hand on the bridge." She smiles at him for knowing her so well.

Captain Daddy is growing more and more frustrated by the secrecy now. "What the hell is going on around here?"

"She can't find him, she needs Hermes assistance." She replies as she waits for Hermes to come to the bridge.

Zoe speaks up now. "Find who though?"

Wash is still confused and says as much. "Okay now I'm really out of the loop, who are we trying to find?"

"Beat's me." Kaylee says.

"What's going on?" Book says when he walks onto the bridge.

"She needs Mr. Universe to find the whelp." She says confusing everyone; even Riddick is slightly confused when she brings up Mr. Universe.

"What kinda name is Mr. Universe?" Jayne says with a chuckle.

"Who's Mr. Universe?" Riddick asks.

"Alright that's it! One of you…" Mal says as she points at the girl and Riddick. "Tell me who the hell it is that owes you a favor. Or how this Mr. Universe guy can help us find him. _Dong ma_?"

She's growing irritated by his authority now, but _sais la vie_, he is the Captain. "Book would you please explain." She says pinching the bridge of her nose. She can feel a headache coming on from all the yelling.

"Mr. Universe is a…friend; he found River's medical files for me not that long ago." Book begins to answer. "The whelp is Paris P. Ogilvie. Antiquities dealer. I guess you could say River and Riddick saved his and my life. But I am unsure as to how he plays into whatever you were all talking about before I got here."

"Girl seems to think he can fence the Lassiter real quick for us." Mal says as he digests what he has just been told.

"That could be." Book says. "I can contact Mr. Universe if you would like River, but I think it would be best if I did so alone."

"What? No, I don't think so. My boat, my rules, I got a right to talk to anyone involved in this job." Mal says exerting his authority again.

"He's just…a very private person…" Book tries to explain delicately. The girl inwardly laughs at his choice of words to describe the man in question.

"Too bad. My boat, my rules."

XXX

Mal had succeeded in getting his way, and had insisted the entire crew could be present for the wave if they chose to be. And since no one wanted to be left out of the loop, they were all standing about the bridge…waiting for Book to connect the wave.

"Derrial! I see we have some new faces as well…is that…no it can't be…Hoban Washburn?" Mr. Universe asks as the wave connects on screen.

"Joel Glicker! You're Mr. Universe?"

Now Mal is just plain shocked and looks at Wash. "You two know each other?"

"From flight school." River supplies from beside the Captain.

Mr. Universe smiles now. "Ah and the infamous River Tam. I was right, those old vids they had of you did you no justice."

"I haven't even met this guy and I already don't like him." Riddick grumbles to Jayne in a hushed voice.

Jayne shakes his head. "What's there to like?"

"This really is a treat; to what do I owe the great pleasure of getting to see such a rare beauty." Mr. Universe says causing River to giggle.

"Okay now I really, don't like this guy." Riddick grumbles. River just turns and sends him a glare.

"We're having trouble locating someone and…" Book begins.

"…and you thought to come to the best for help. Derrial, as always you flatter me beyond belief. So, who is it that you are looking for."

"Paris P. Ogilvie." River replies.

There is a mix of surprise and astonishment on Mr. Universe's face now, and he breaks into a fit of laughter. "How perfect…how deliciously perfect. I know Mr. Ogilvie quite well…in fact he has a package for me. So I believe this can be a mutually beneficial situation. I'll give you his location, if you would do me the favor of procuring my package for me."

"Sounds like a pretty even deal to me." Mal says. He turns to River now though. "Do you want me to ask what's in the box this time or we good?"

She chuckles at the Captain. While she knows exactly what is in said package, she does not think it prudent to embarrass the strange little man assisting them. "This time it is quite alright not to ask."

"Shiny. So we got ourselves a deal." Mal says as he turns his attention back to Mr. Universe.

"I'll upload Mr. Ogilvie and my coordinates to the usual account Derrial."

"See you soon old friend." Book says as he disconnects the wave.

XXX

…Two days later on the moon of Caspia …

River's POV

"You sure this is the place?" Captain Daddy asks as they stand in front of a rather run down warehouse.

Mal, Zoe, and the girl had gone to along for the first 'social call' as the girl put it. Riddick had no desire to see the whelp of a man again, and thought he would be more cooperative if the girl could use Riddick as a threat if need be. He had forced her to arm up before they left though, never could be too careful.

"This is it." She says with a smile and knocks on the door.

A minute passes then the sound of static can be heard over an overhead comm unit. "Who is it?" Asks a raspy voice.

"Open up Paris, it's the girl…River." River calls out.

"River?" The voices asks.

"The girl who brought you through darkness." She says for clarification. He's being overly cautious and it's more than a little annoying.

The door that they stand in front of begins to creak open now, revealing a man in well made yet horribly mismatched clothes.

"Well I wasn't expecting this." Paris says.

"May we come in?" The girl asks.

He looks at all three of them before answering. "By all means." He says as he motions them inside.

While the exterior of the building left much to be desired, the interior was brimming with boxes, antiques, and other ornate objects.

"Nice place." Captain Daddy says as he looks around.

"Paris, this is Captain Malcolm Reynolds and Zoe Washburn." The girl says as she introduces the three.

"Charmed I'm sure." Paris says warily. "What the devil are you doing here?" He says as he turns his attention back to the girl.

"We have a proposition, something that the girl thought you might be interested in procuring."

"Oh yeah, what's that?"

"The Lassiter."

Paris scoffs now. "You couldn't possibly have the Lassiter. Duran Haymer has the only…" but the words die in his mouth as the girl takes the Lassiter out of her bag.

"He had, would be the correct phrasing." Mal says as Paris walks forward and begins examining the gun.

"Remarkable. Truly remarkable. The craftsmanship." He says the girl hands him the gun.

"We were hoping you could fence it for us." Mal says, bringing Paris out of his daze.

"Well you certainly have acquired better taste in companions since I last saw you." Paris says to the girl.

She rolls her eyes. "Riddick is back on the ship. She can call him if you like."

At the mention of Riddick Paris pales considerably. "That's won't be necessary." He says quickly.

"So, Paris, you think you can help us out here?" Captain Daddy says getting things back on track.

"Well that depends on…."

"At least seventy five percent of its estimated value." The girl answers.

Paris stares at her dumbstruck but his mind speaks volumes.

"…**.**_**daxiang baozhashi de laduzi!..."**_

She rolls her eyes. "Repetition is irksome Paris." She says in warning.

"I…I might know one man willing to purchase it at that price."

"Good set it up. But do it quiet like, we don't want our names attached to it." Mal says sharply.

"Of course." Paris says as he moves over to his computers now and begins to pull up his files.

"Oh, we're also to pick up a package for Mr. Universe." Mal adds.

Paris looks towards the girl now. "Is that how you found me? Never would have thought you knew him too."

"Small verse." She says with a shrug.

"His package is over there, it's marked for pickup at Beylix; you should be able to find it." He says without turning away from his computer.

The warrior woman walks over to where Paris has motioned and begins looking about. It takes her a minute but she finds it. "Sir, gonna need your help with this one."

Captain Daddy walks over now and looks down at the package. It's about as big as a coffin. "What the hell is in this thing?"

XXX

AN: I told you I kept him alive for a reason! I figured since the crew never did find a fence for it in the show who better than Paris to fence such a priceless artifact. Up next it's off to Mr. Universe's hideout…I wonder what's in the package…hmmm…anyways, till next time ;)


	34. Practice Makes Perfect

AN: I'm sorry this update took me longer to post. In addition to law school being tough right now I was diagnosed with a nerved disorder (nothing too bad but very painful). Special thanks go out to Rachet, Moon FireStar, , chacra, hideher, and Ookami Sakura for the reviews =) As always I own nothing, I just play with all this for my own twisted amusement. On with the show!

Practice Makes Perfect

XXX

…A day and a half later…

As Serenity hits atmo of Mr. Universe's moon, the propulsion engines take over and Serenity begins to rock a bit. As Mal watches from the bridge a small piece of the nose breaks off.

"What was that?" He asks mildly shocked.

"Whoah! Did you see that?" Wash says mainly to himself.

The ship now lurches.

"Was that the primary buffer panel?" Mal says with mild irritation.

"It did seem to resemble…"

"Did the primary buffer panel just fall off my gorram ship for no apparent reason?" Mal says as his voice grows louder.

"Looks like." Wash says as he strains at the helm.

"I thought Kaylee checked our entry couplings! I have a very clear memory of it…"

But Wash interrupts him. "Yeah well if she doesn't give us some extra flow from the engine room to offset the burn through this landing is gonna get pretty interesting."

"Define 'Interesting'."

Wash turns to Mal briefly and in a calm voice answers. "Oh god, oh god, we're all gonna die?"

Mal pinches the bridge of his nose and grabs the comm now. "This is the Captain. There's a little problem with our entry sequence; we may experience slight turbulence and then explode."

He turns to walk out of the bridge now. "Can you shave the vector?" He says to Wash as one last suggestion.

"I'm doing it! It's not enough."

"Just get us on the ground!" Mal says as he turns and leaves.

"That part'll happen, pretty definitely." Wash calls to him.

As he leaves the bridge Mal is greeted by the sight of Jayne…covered in a number of guns and grenades.

"We're gonna explode?" He asks the Captain. "I don't wanna explode."

"Jayne is that really necessary?" Mal asks as he eyes all the weapons.

"I just got excitable as to choice."

"Jayne this is just a meet, I don't plan on any shootings taking place."

"Yeah, well what you plan and what takes place ain't ever exactly been similar."

"One gun Jayne." Mal says as Jayne groans.

Mal walks through the common area towards the engine room. "KAYLEE!" He yells as the ship lurches again.

"Everythings shiny Cap'n not to fret." She answers from underneath a side panel that she is working on.

"You told me…" again the ship lurches. "You told me that the entry couplings would hold for another week!"

"That was six months ago, Cap'n."

"My ship don't crash, if she crashes, you crashed her." He says as he turns and leaves.

XXX

Riddick's POV

I'm looking for River when the ship lurches again. "Maybe we really will crash this time." I say to myself as I continue down the hallway.

I reach the cargo bay and look over the edge of the railing to see River sitting in the middle of the room next to Mr. Full of Himself's box.

"Negative. 27.2 percent chance of cataclysmic crash. Today is not the day we fall from the sky in a blazing glory." She says without looking towards me.

I walk down the stairs and move towards her. "Good to know…So…what's in that box anyways?"

"It's a secret, not her's to tell."

"What about all that _gos su _about what's asking in the box?"

She turns and looks at me now…a smile on her lips. She looks just like the cat that got the cream. "Quoth the raven, `Nevermore."

XXX

River's POV

As the entire crew disembarked Serenity, they were greeted by Mr. Universe. He was a strange little man; while his outward persona exudes frivolity, there is something much darker in the depths.

"Welcome friends and potential lovers." He said as walked towards them causing the girl to giggle. She felt waves of irritation coming off of Riddick, and could see his mind trying to establish a reason for scaring, injuring, or killing the little man.

She turns and smacks his arm now. "Play nice."

He doesn't say anything, but she can feel him sending her metaphorical daggers in his mind.

"Derrial, it has been far too long." Mr. Universe says as he shakes Book's hand.

"Indeed it has…Let me formally introduce the crew of Serenity…this is Captain Malcolm Reynolds…"

"A pleasure Captain."

"…his first mate Zoe Washburn…"

Mr. Universe turns to Zoe, takes her hand and places a small kiss on it. Zoe looks almost surprised that the man would try this. "How on earth-that-was did my old friend manage to capture you dear lady, you are much too pretty for him."

"Ahem...I am standing right her you know." Wash says as he waves his hand.

"You of course already know Wash…"

"Of course." He says as he takes Wash's hand to shake it.

"Kaylee, Serenity's mechanic…"

"Hello." The sunshine says with a bright smile.

"You are as lovely as your name Kaylee." Mr. Universe says as he kisses her hand as well.

"Ms. Inara Sera…"

"Ah, a registered companion, forgive me if I cannot find words to due you justice." Mr. Universe says.

Inara cannot help but blush a little. "Thank you Mr. Universe."

"…Jayne and Riddick are what you would call our public relations team…"

"Well this is a surprise…Richard B. Riddick, I am quite a fan of your work." Mr. Universe says.

"Really now?" Riddick questions.

The girl chuckles. "He has the security footage of your escape from Butcher Bay." She says, which earns her another mental dagger.

"Ah…the woman who needs no introduction, Ms. Tam."

"She prefers just River."

"Well…just River…welcome to my humble abode. If you would all care to follow me I have some refreshments prepared for you all."

"Sure." Mal says as he begins following the man. "Riddick, Jayne, you want to grab the box?"

XXX

Riddick's POV

Jayne and I lug the box into Mr. U's office or living room. Not sure exactly what to call it as it's mostly a bunch of computer equipment and some random sofas in a large room. We drop the box as soon as we get a chance.

"Careful!" The strange little hobbit yells as the box makes a loud thud on the floor.

"Box is heavy, be thankful we carried it in at all." I say with a grumble as I move to stand behind where River is seated on one of the sofas.

"So...we ever get to see what's inside that thing?" Jayne asks. Kaylee promptly hits him over the head.

"Maybe some other time." Mr. Universe says with a tight smile.

"The girl has important matters of business to attend to." River says as a diversion.

"Oh really? Do tell." Mr. Universe says as he brings around glasses and wine for everyone.

"We need to procure a medical transport vessel, uniforms, security clearance, and layout's of Saint Lucy's Hospital."

Mr. Universe looks quite shocked now. "Whatever could you plan on doing at an Alliance hospital?"

"She needs to see someone there. And since it will be impossible for her to walk in the front door…she will need another way in."

"The security feeds would still pick up your face on the scanner when you were wheeled in as a patient though."

The next thing out of River's mouth stuns everyone. "Not if she is dead."

XXX

River's POV

"I'm sorry…what?" Captain Daddy asks as the shock wears off.

"I'm liking this plan more and more already. I volunteer to make her corpsified." Jayne says as a joke, although it just earns him a growl from Riddick and another smack from Kaylee.

"Well not really dead. A facsimile of death with suffice." She answers.

"How the hell you plan on accomplishing that?" Riddick asks.

"Suspend cerebral, cardiac, and pulmonary activity in order to induce a proto-comatose state."

"And what does that mean to the rest of us non-geniuses in the room?" Wash asks as Mr. Universe merely chuckles.

"My dear, your file did you no justice at all. You have the mind of a criminal mastermind. She's going to fake a coma with drugs and use you all to get her into the morgue. They won't check a corpse for ID. It's brilliant."

"Thank you." She says with a small smile.

"There is a junk yard outside of Ariel City that should have a ship that will fit your needs. As for the other things you mentioned…I have several contacts…but it will come at a price."

She smiles. "Will thirty thousand be adequate to secure your services?"

When she states this number everyone in the room turns and looks at her as if she has sprouted another head.

"Bit where the hell did you get that kind of money?" Captain Daddy asks.

"Paris wired us the funds from the last job this morning…" She says as she gets up and hands him a printout.

He takes the paper looks at the number printed on the page and proceeds to openly gape as Zoe, Jayne, Kaylee, and Wash come over and peaks from behind him. Each beginning to wear matching looks of shock from the number listed.

XXX

…A little while latter…

They had departed Mr. Universe's moon with the information that they needed in order to pull of this grand heist as he had called it. He had procured holographic blueprints, security clearance passes for their working aliases, as well as contacts to procure uniforms on Ariel.

As soon as Wash had lifted off River had requested that the Captain, Zoe, and Jayne follow her to the infirmary to begin practice on the lines they would need to memorize. It would only take a day or two to reach Ariel and they had a lot of work to do before then and when they arrived.

XXX

"The patients were cynical and not responding and we couldn't bring them back." Mal says.

"They were cyanotic." River corrects.

"They were _cyanotic_ and not responding…"

"Not responsive." River corrects as she squeezes the bridge of her nose. After a day of practice they weren't much better at memorizing their lines.

"_Responsive_." Mal says with slight irritation.

She takes a deep breath and continues coaching him. "And we were unable to ..."

"Resuscitate them!" Zoe says with a look of triumph on her face. Jayne merely looks confused.

XXX

… Ariel a day later…

"Figures. First time on a Core and what do I get to do? Look through trash." Kaylee says as she rummages through the pile of metal and debris in front of her.

Mal had assigned her and Wash with the task of finding a suitable transport vehicle for the heist while looking for spare parts for Serenity as well since they were pretty flush with money from the Lassiter.

"Couldn't he send me shopping at the Triplex, or Oooh!" She stops her rant and picks up a piece of pipe. "A new port compression coil! We've been needin' one of these."

"Well add it to all these other bits you're havin' me haul around." Wash says as he comes up behind her and she put it in the wheelbarrow he's pushing.

He stops and sets down the handles and wipes his brow when he notices it, a small ship that looks to be in decent shape. He gestures to Kaylee, pleased at his discovery and more pleased they get to leave the junkyard.

XXX

"Pupils were fixed and dilapidated…" Mal says

"Dilated." River corrects again.

"_Dilated_! _Dilated_!" he says as he pounds the table with his fist in frustration. "_Ching-wah tsao duh liou mahng_!"

XXX

"A small battery of local Alliance Federals sub-stationed here." Riddick says as he points at a computer screen, and Mal, Jayne, and Zoe look.

"Now, every floor, every doorway is equipped with sensors and at all points of entry - patient ident scans. However, once clear of those checkpoints, movement within the facility itself should be relatively unhindered." River continues.

Riddick highlights another area on the map. "Now, the standard layout should put the medvault somewhere..."

XXX

"What about cortical electrodes?" River asks Jayne, who she now notices is looking at a small slip of paper.

"What's this?" She asks as she rips the crib sheet out of his hands.

Jayne looks at her now, and glares but doesn't say anything about it. "We applied, we applied the cortical electrodes. We used them electromagnetic...Reacted from... We were unable to a ...We applied the cortical electrodes but were unable to get a neural reaction from either... Unable to get a neural..." He pounds the table and swears in Chinese under his breath.

"Response." Mal fills in for him.

"_Response_... Hell, I don't know. If I had wanted schooling, I'da gone to school. I'll get it."

XXX

River's POV

Kaylee and Wash had managed to get the small ship back to Serenity easily enough since it could fly for small distances without crashing without doing any repairs on her.

Inara had gone and secured the employee uniforms, and had returned a while ago.

It was now all hands on deck to get the little ship ready. Riddick and Book were taking care of the welding, Wash and Kaylee saw to the wiring and electrical repairs, while everyone else helped as best they could. After many long hours, they all stood back and looked at what they had created.

"We did it." Kaylee said with relief and enthusiasm.

"It's perfect." She says as she studies the ambulance.

"Now we just need a corpse." Jayne says with a chuckle.

"Corpses actually." She corrects.

All heads snap to look at her now. "What?" They say in unison.

"She will need Riddick with her while Captain Daddy, Zoe, and Jayne raid the medivault. He will need to be transported as well."

"Did you know about this?" Mal asks Riddick.

"News to me." He says. She can feel the pricks of irritation on her skin.

"She did not think about that logistically till this morning. It is the only way to ensure the proper outcome."

A minute or so goes by when no one speaks; they merely digest what she has said.

"You okay with this then?" Mal asks Riddick.

"Don't have much of a choice when she says things like that."

XXX

…Later that night…

Riddick's POV

I descend into our bunk to find River curled up on the bed looking over the hospital blueprint again. I stop and look at her for a moment, there's a look on her face that I haven't seen before; it's one of reverence and sadness.

"She never wanted to drag him down to her level. That's why she left. He does not belong down here with her."

I move and sit next to her and she closes the holographic blueprint.

"He doesn't know what they did to her…her parents, the Alliance, the Academy…he doesn't know, and she's not sure he will understand what she did as retaliation."

"Does it really matter if he doesn't?" I ask.

"No, she supposes it does not."

XXX

...Meanwhile...

He sits at his desk when there is a knock on the door. He doesn't bother to look up as the young ensign walks in.

"Sir, preparations are complete. Dr. Tam will be apprehended tomorrow and brought in for questioning."

"Excellant. You are dismissed." He says with a curt wave of his hand.

The young man hurries from the room and closes the door behind him.

"Let's see if she really can stay away from her dear brother."

XXX

AN: After 33ish chapters he is finally going to make his appearance! I know some of you will be happy to FINALLY see Simon. ;) Till next time.


	35. Where is My Mind?

AN: Okay, so I am so sorry that it has taken me this long to update. Law school has been very stressful and what not. But on a positive note I finally got this update done to my satisfaction. =) I hope you guys enjoy it, it's a bit shorter than past updates, but I felt it was necessary at this point in the story. Thank you to leckie, LeaFairy124, chakra, Ookami Sakura, hideher, Moon FireStar, , and seargentlampchop for the great reviews. Now on with the show!

Where Is My Mind?

XXX

River's POV

She lays in their bed…eyes toward the ceiling above her. She feels the gentle hum of Serenity underneath her, hears the soft whirring as the engines spin; on any other night it would lull her to sleep, but not tonight.

She turns her head toward the sleeping man next to her. His back falls up and down in an even rhythm. She turns ever so slightly to allow her arm to come up and ghost her fingers along his spine. He doesn't stir when she does this though… he's too far into Neverland.

As quietly as she can she extricates herself from the blankets. She grabs one of the dresses she managed to piece back together after Riddick's little hissy fit, although one long sleeve remained missing, and pulls it on over her head. She leaves her feet bare and silent steps up the ladder opening the hatch to the hallway above. She closes it behind her and begins to walk away from it…slowly dragging her fingers along the cool steel walls.

Unlike the last time she wandered the halls this late she knows she will not find anyone awake. She allows herself to catch snippets of their minds and their sweet lullabies…

Riddick's mind doesn't sing a lullaby like the others…it's just like you imagined…brutal, haunting, and powerful…it makes her shiver slightly…

…Jayne sings of the open road…over the hills and far away… _**And a pocketful of gold**_…

Kaylee's mind is sweetness and smiles…_**Stars shining bright above you, night breezes seem to whisper, I love you**_…she's dreaming of the endless possibilities that await her…

It's kind of blue in Book's lullaby…the trumpet wafting in and out… and autumn leaves…

Zoe and Wash share the same lullaby…beautiful Clair de Lune…

A blackbird haunts the mind of Mal…_**Blackbird fly, blackbird fly, into the light of the dark black night**_…

Like Mal…Inara's mind sings of black, but it's cryptic…and chill settles over the girl's skin as the beautiful melancholic notes play through her mind and she can't quiet distinguish the words that float through…

But none of the lullabies they sing placate her and she continues to wander. Her eyes close and her hands continue to trail along the cool metal. Eventually she feels their music fade away…

…_**With your feet in the air**__**  
**__**And your head on the ground…**_

She feels the grating of the cargo bay beneath her feet and she opens her eyes as she walks towards the stairs to the upper catwalks.

…_**Try this trick**__**  
**__**Spin it**__**  
**__**Yeah…**_

The grating of the catwalks stings at her feet, like walking over twigs in a forest. She walks towards her "usual" spot…on the walkway towards the extra shuttle…and she lays down, hair dripping through the grating.

…_**Your head will collapse**__**  
**__**But there's nothing in  
But you ask yourself…**_

She feels as if she could melt into the metal and fade away…

…_**Where is my mind?**__**  
**__**Where is my mind?**__**  
**__**Where is my mind?...**_

She doesn't sleep…her mind won't let her still. It's running the numbers, trying to find a path through the forest….It's as if the next few hours speed up now…the minutes of the clock just tick tick ticking by…and the light of Serenity begins to glow as the morning hour approaches…

___**…I was swimming in the Caribbean**__**  
**__**Animals were hiding behind the rocks…**_

She feels each thread of awareness being pulled tight in the mind of the crew as they slowly rise from their slumber…like the strings of a guitar plucked one at a time...

…_**Except a little fish, but they told me**__**  
**__**He swears he was trying to talk to me, to me…**_

…But some of the notes are slightly off, it isn't tuned…some of the strings seem as if they are about to snap under the tension…and she can't tell which…

…_**Where is my mind?**__**  
**__**Where is my mind?**__**  
**__**Where is my mind?...**_

Her eyes begin to fill with tears as she tries to desperately discern which string is wound too tight…but she just can't make it clear…

…_**Way out in the water**__**  
**__**See it swimming**__**  
**__**Where is my mind?...**_

She continues to try and make sense of it…to isolate the notes…but she can't…all she can hear is the melody play…and eventually she succumbs to sleep…

XXX

River's POV

It's not long later she feels a heavy boot poke at her side…can smell the gun powder and grease… and she groans and rolls to her side….

"Come on moonbrain." Jayne says with mild irritation.

"I know…we're going for a ride." She says as she sits up.

"I? You finally learn a new word there?" Jayne says in a facetious manner…

She rolls her eyes and pushes herself into a seated position. She casts her doe eyes up at the man before her.

"She wonders if she's been changed in the night? Let her think. Was she the same when she got up this morning? She almost thinks she can remember feeling a little different. But if she's not the same, the next question is 'Who in the world am _I_?"

"You're the crazy moonbrain, That's who. Now get your behind up and to the infirmary…we've got a job to do that you talked us all into."

…_**Way out in the water**__**  
**__**See it swimming**_**…**

He begins to stalk away and she sighs and follows…she won't have time to deduce which strings are out of tune today…

…_**Where is my mind?**__**  
**__**Where is my mind?**__**  
**__**Where is my mind?...**_

He continues to complain as they walk to the infirmary about being told to o find the crazy girl…not in his job description…

"Shouldn't even be doing this job in the dam first place. If everybody minded their own business, the world would go around a great deal faster than it does." Jayne grumbles as they get to the infirmary.

Captain Daddy, Zoe, and Riddick are all waiting, dressed for the parts that they each play. She nods to Riddick as she enters and moves to stand by him.

"So you ready for this River?" Captain Daddy asks her.

_**With your feet the air**__**  
**__**And your head on the ground**_

"Are you?"

_**Try this trick**_

"It's what I do, darlin."

_**Spin it**__**  
**__**Yeah**_

XXX

AN: Hopefully you all enjoyed the somewhat ominous look into the crew's heads. I know some of you will want to know which songs are the lullabies so I have listed them =) Up next…Ariel and dear brother Simon. Till next time…

The music in the crew's lullabies is as follows:  
Riddick – Nine Inch Nails "Just Like You Imagined"  
Jayne- Led Zeppelin "Over the Hills and Far Away"  
Kaylee – Michael Buble "Dream a Little Dream of Me"  
Book – Miles Davis "Autumn Leaves"  
Zoe and Wash – "Suite Bergamasque No. 3, L 75: Clair de Lune"  
Mal –The Beatles "Blackbird"  
Inara – Massive Attack "Black Milk"  
River's music – "Where is My Mind?" from the Sucker Punch Soundtrack


	36. Spirits of the DeadI Need a Doctor

I am happy to say that this chapter has FINALLY been finished. I really struggled with how to handle the whole hospital bit of Ariel and I hope you guys are happy with the end result. Thank you to I-am-a-slash-addict, hideher, chacra, Moon FireStar, and for the great reviews. It means a lot that people continue to read this story. Anyways, on with the show!

Spirits of the Dead…I Need a Doctor…Ruled by Secrecy

XXX

The salvaged ambulance ship flies toward Saint Lucy's. Mal, Zoe, and Jayne all sit patiently, refusing to look back at the two caskets while Wash pilots them to the hospital. Jayne is silently repeating his lines to himself and clearly concentrating on what he has to say.

"We speak only when spoken to, we avoid all unnecessary contact, and we stay together until we reach the morgue. Understood?" Mal says as he begins to slip into his Sergeant mode.

"Yes, sir." Zoe says.

"We applied the cortical electrode..." Jayne mumbles.

"Jayne?" Mal asks suspiciously.

Jayne continues mumbling. "...were unable to get a neural response…Yeah, yeah, I got it."

"Are we gonna have a problem?" Mal asks.

"I know what I gotta do. Don't worry about me…as long as I get paid I'm happy." He says as he goes back to mumbling his lines. "We applied the cortical electrodes and were unable to get a neural response. We applied the cortical electrodes...

The ambulance lands outside the hospital and the shuttle doors open. Mal, Jayne, and Zoe load the two caskets onto gurneys.

"We've only got a few hours left before the morning shift." Wash says as he gets ready to take off.

"Won't be an hour." Mal says.

XXX

"What do you got?" The receiving doctor asks.

Mal begins his lines now. "Got a couple of DOAs, by the time we got there..."

He's interrupted though. The receiving doctor is uninterested. "Take them down to the morgue."

Mal looks back at Zoe, who just begins to push the gurney forward.

"We applied the cortical electrodes but were unable to get a neural reaction from either patient." Jayne says with confidence. Zoe merely shakes her head and laughs a little.

The doctor looks at Jayne for a second, then looks down, still uninterested. Mal grimaces at Jayne, and they head toward the morgue.

It doesn't take them very long to get there and when they do they close and lock the doors behind them. They open the caskets, and Mal injects each of them as Zoe and Jayne move them onto gurneys.

"That should bring them out of it in a few minutes. Let's get going, ain't got much time." And with that Mal, Zoe, and Jayne take the empty caskets out of the room.

XXX

River's POV

When she wakes from the drug induced stupor she can feel his mind already alert and awake.

"Nice of you to join me sleeping beauty." He says from his stand at the door. She sits up and sees he's peering out to make sure no one comes in.

"ETA to evac?" She asks as she slides off the gurney. She can feel the drugs in her system…feel them course through her veins. It's taking longer than expected for her body to break them down…and she has to mentally tell herself to focus.

"Forty minutes."

She feels it pull at her mind, it will provide complications….But she can't think about that now…She proceeds to strip out of her clothes and into the hospital gown she plans on wearing as a disguise. She stops before she slips the gown over her head though. She can feel him watching her, with lust filled eyes.

"Copper for a kiss." She says playfully and he chuckles.

XXX

Jayne, Zoe and Mal push the caskets off of an elevator, moving down the hall.

"Two lefts, two rights, and we're there. You see anyone, smile." Mal says.

"I don't think anyone smiles in hospitals." Zoe replies.

"Of course they do, it's the Core. Everyone's rich and happy here, why wouldn't they smile?" Jayne says.

XXX

Riddick's POV

I'm in this stupid orderly's uniform and pushing River through a recovery area, with doctors and nurses milling about checking on patients in beds when I feel her tense.

"They're doing it backwards; walking up the down slide." She says quietly. "They're going to die."

"No one is going to die."

She points to a bed three places in front of us. "He is." River looks at the patient she indicated as monitors start to beep wildly. She starts to rise from her wheelchair, and I quickly place a hand on her shoulder to keep her in her seat.

"River, we don't have time." I say, but something changes in her demeanor and I feel her relax under my hold. I look up and see a man run into the room and to the patient crashing. I try and push her along but she slams on the wheelchair breaks.

"What do we have?" The guy says as he starts examining patient.

"Forty-two year old double-bypass post-op, prognosis was positive." The younger doc says.

"BP's 60/20, pulse is thready." Say a nurse as there is a loud beep. "He's crashing."

The first doctor says. "Get the cart."

"We have flatline!"

"We've got to crack it." The second doc says.

"We're not cracking a post-op."

"He's non-responsive, should I call the code team?"

"Get the infusers and point-four of atropine." The first doc says to the nurse; he then turns to the younger doc. "What did you give him?"

"Just twenty of alprazoline push." The young guy responds.

The older guy sighs disgustedly, holds syringe in his teeth, takes defib paddles. "Clear."  
He looks at monitor. "Clear." This time the monitor shows a heartbeat.

"We've got rhythm." The nurse says.

"He's going tachy." The young guy says worried.

"Yeah, but his heart's beating." He then injects the atropine, the monitors stabilize, and the nurse and young doctor look on.

"He's okay."

The older doctor now turns on the younger one and begins to berate him. "Explain to me how you justify administering a vasoconstrictor to this patient."

"Alprazoline is a pain killer, not a vaso…"

But the older guy interrupts. "Unless you combine it with dilaftin. Which any first-year should know is the standard prep medication your patient was taking before surgery. Your patient  
should be dead." He says as he walks away from the now deflated young doctor.

"Simon." River says.

XXX

"Here it is." Mal says as he, Zoe, and Jayne stop in front of a set of large doors. He swipes his key card through the reader. But the indicator light doesn't flash green. "No go. Zoe?"

Zoe swipes her keycard, and the indicator flashes green and the door clicks open.

They quickly enter the medvault pushing the gurneys before them. Once inside they quickly close the door behind them and stand in awe at the racks of medicine in the room.

"Gorram, she sure wasn't kidding." Jayne says as he looks around the room.

"Remember just stick to the stuff on the list." Mal says as he hands Zoe and Jayne small hand written shopping lists with things to find.

Zoe doesn't need to be told twice and she starts scanning bottles, picking up the ones she wants and putting them in her casket; Jayne and Mal follow suit.

XXX

…Reality shifts…

The after effects of the drugs keep claiming her vision… the faces blur together…she blinks and the walls decay before her eyes, the wallpaper melts into the floor, and the people passing by her morph into shadows of reality.

…_**Thy soul shall find itself alone  
'Mid dark thoughts of the grey tomb-stone…**_

She knows it's the drugs, but can't stop the words from echoing in her ears…

…_**Not one, of all the crowd, to pry  
Into thine hour of secrecy...**_

She has to pull it together…she has to summon her strength.

…_**Be silent in that solitude  
Which is not loneliness - for then  
The spirits of the dead who stood  
In life before thee are again  
In death around thee - and their will  
Shall then overshadow thee: be still…**_

"…I can do this…" She thinks to herself. And she keeps repeating it. "…I can do this, I can do this…" Because it's the only thing she can do to keep from screaming…

…Reality shifts again…

XXX

River's POV

Her vision clears and she can feel a cold sweat along her skin…She takes a deep breath and settles back into the wheelchair as Riddick pushes her along. She knows it's only momentary relief though…it the same song and dance she is used to…moments of clarity….moments of drug induced fractured reality…

They follow Simon silently down the hallways. The bustle and noise of the hospital masks their pursuit; he doesn't notice the strange pair tracking him. Despite all the noise, the mechanical beeps of machines, the scuffle of shoes on the worn linoleum floor, and the earlier…distraction… her mind is eerily silent.

As Simon turns the corner towards his office, she motions for Riddick to duck into a room she knows to be empty. She gets out of the wheel chair as soon as they are in the room. She begins to pace.

"How do you want to play it?" He asks her after he closes the door.

She doesn't answer him though. Again the drugs play with her…pull at her strings like she is a puppet…and for the first time in a long time she feels a strange mix of emotions. Nervousness, anxiety, and confusion begin to blanket her mind.

…_**I'm about to lose my mind  
You've been gone for so long…**_

She closes her eyes and works hard to suppress these feelings. She needs to remember why she is here, why she came all this way.

"River?" Riddick says.

…_**I'm running out of time  
I need a doctor  
Call me a doctor…**_

"She is good." She answers.

"You sure about that?" He asks.

She tilts her head to the left and thinks about it for a moment. "When is a person ever sure of their sanity?" She asks.

"Part of being sane, is being a little bit crazy." He says with shrug as he walks out the door and towards the office down the hall.

She takes a deep breath and follows.

…_**I need a doctor, doctor  
To bring me back to life…**_

XXX

Riddick's POV

I scan the hallway to see if anyone is going to notice us walking into the doc's office. There are a few nurses at the end of the hall but they are preoccupied talking amongst themselves.

"Come on." I say as I creep down the hallway. River follows closely behind.

I reach the door and look back to her, she gives me a small nod to proceed, and I quickly open the door and walk in.

The doc is sitting behind his desk and looks up when he hears someone open the door. "Can I help you?" He asks.

I move to the side and let River pass, and I see the doc's eyes go wide.

"Simon." She says in a small voice.

"River." He says, but he doesn't get up to greet her. He's wary of her, of why she's here. "How did you…"

She cuts him off though. "Irrelevant. Now is not the time to discuss it…"

"Why are you here?" He asks acerbically and this just begins to piss me off.

"Girl went through an awful lot of trouble to see you doc, least you could do is act like you're glad she is here."

"I'm sorry who are you?" He says with an air of condensation.

See now that just makes me ever madder and I take a step forward to yank him out of his chair when River places a hand on my arm. She gives me a look that screams 'let me handle this' and I stay put.

"He's someone important to me." River says.

Simon scoffs. "Looks like a lowlife thug to me."

"I prefer murderer as my official title." He blanches a little when I say this and River glares at me again.

XXX

River's POV

Their arrogance is irksome. It's like watching two roosters circling each other, each getting ready to scratch the other's eyes out.

"What are you doing here River?" Simon asks again.

"She came to save you."

"Save me? From what? You? The feds showed me what you did to our…"

"DON'T!" She practically yells. He looks at her like she is a wild animal, and his fear is palpable. "Do you know what they did to _me_…the hell _I_ lived through? Did the feds tell you about how they cut _me_ apart like science experiment?"

"What in Buddha's name are you talking about?" Simon asks disbelievingly.

"It wasn't a school…it was torture! _I_ was thirteen and they cut my brain open for their sick amusement!"

"They said you ran away! That you were psychotic!"

"News flash doc, the feds lie." Riddick chimes in from behind the girl. She turns and gives him a pointed look before returning to face her brother.

"You still murdered them in cold blood!"

"They deserved it! They sold her…they sold her into slavery; they delivered her into the blue hands of torturers. Brave men do not gather by thousands to torture and murder a single individual, so gagged and bound she cannot make even feeble resistance or defense."

XXX

Wash is cooling his heels, sitting by the ambulance. Jayne, Zoe, and Mal come out of the hospital, pushing the loaded caskets towards him as fast as they can. Wash helps Zoe pick up a casket while Mal and Jayne get the other.

"How much did we get?" Wash asks.

"What bit said. More than enough to keep us flying." Mal says as they slide the caskets into the ambulance.

"Can we fly somewhere with a beach, Maybe a naked beach?" Jayne asks.

"My mind is scarred just thinking about that." Wash says as he tries to shake the image out of his head.

"Cut it out. Job's not done until we're back on Serenity." Mal barks. He is growing agitated. "Where are the others?"

Now Zoe looks a little worried.

"Time?" Mal asks.

"Two minutes to rendezvous." Zoe answers. Jayne and Wash both grow more serious now.

"Bit's making me awful anxious today."

XXX

River's POV

"You're crazy." Simon says with a modicum of disgust barely concealed in his voice.

"I'm not. No, I'm not." She says with barely controlled anger.

"Your dangerous!" Simon says yelling now. "And you're associating with thugs!"

"Doc, it's the business of the future to be dangerous." Riddick says with a sneer.

"Oh is that supposed to scare me?"

"If you weren't her brother…"

"You'd what? Listen I…"

She can't take it anymore and she feels her anger bubble over. "ENOUGH!" She yells and both men look at her.

"Simon you aren't safe. They will be here soon…they intend to use you to get to me."

Just as Simon goes to open his mouth to question her, there is a knock on the door and two armed federal agents walk in. Great, just great…Captain Daddy is going to be mad they are going to be late.

"Hands up…all of you! We are going you to need you to come with us."

XXX

Riddick's POV

This is just great…just fucking great, the cherry on the mother fucking sundae.

"Thank Buddha you are here." The doc says as he moves towards them.

"Stop right there Doctor Tam!" One of the feds barks. "Our orders were to take you and anyone else with you into custody."

"WHAT!" Simon yells. "I didn't do anything wrong!"

"You think they care Simon." River says as she turns to face the two men at my back. I see her giving me hand signals and nod my head slightly.

I can't help but chuckle as I inch closer to the first fed. "See you gentleman made three mistakes. First, you took the job…Second, you came light. A two man crew? Fucking insulting. But the worst mistake you made..."

I quickly yank the barrel of the gun from the first fed toward the second one as the first guy starts to fire. The second guy goes down with bullets in his stomach and I quickly snap the neck of the other first guy.

"…not knowing who the fuck you were dealing with." I say as I toss the gun down.

"What the hell did you just do!" The doc screams from in back of me.

"My job." I answer with a smirk. The doc just opens and closes his mouth a few times.

River quickly moves to close the door and then turns to a shell shocked Simon. "You can't stay here, they will come for you…we are offering you salvation." River says.

"How am I any safer with the likes of you two?" He questions her. "You just killed two Alliance feds!"

"If we wanted you dead you already would be." I say coolly, which just earns another look from the doc and an eye roll from the girl.

"He's crass, but there is truth in his words." The girl says as she turns back to her brother. "Come with us if you want to live."

XXX

…On Serenity…

Book and Kaylee are sitting on the bridge when the chatter comes over the scanner.

"Shots fired in the east wing…"

"Oh shit." Book says as he sits up and starts prepping Serenity for a fast departure.

Kaylee grabs the comm unit that is linked with the Captain. "Cap'n we got a problem…"

XXX

…Back at the rendezvous point…

"What was that Kaylee?" Mal says into his comm.

"Reports of shots fired in the east wing Capn'." Kaylee's voice repeats over the comm.

"Shit." Jayne says as he turns toward the shuttle to pull out his shotgun, and is followed by Zoe.

"Kaylee I want you to bring up a hospital schematic on the Cortex." Mal says as he turns toward the shuttle. Zoe hands him a communicator and they put on earpieces. Zoe then hands Mal a gun. She straps another gun to her ankle.

"So, you're just going to walk in through the front door?" Wash says mildly confused.

"No. Knowing bit, she's gonna give us a signal. We're gonna wait for that and then haul their asses out."

XXX

River's POV

…_**Doubt startin' to creep in, everyday it's just so grey and black.  
Hope, I just need a ray of that  
'Cause no one sees my vision…**_

She pushes open a heavy metal door, she runs across the empty operating auditorium. Simon and Riddick are right behind her. She's trying so hard to hold on…between the drugs and the dogs of war licking at their heels…she can barely manage as the fly through the halls…

"This must be a mistake…I'm a doctor! They couldn't possibly mean to arrest me…" Simon says mumbling to himself as he runs after River.

…_**Let me turn on the lights and brighten me and enlighten you.  
I don't think you realize what you mean to me, not the slightest clue…**_

"Where the hell are we going?" Riddick asks.

"Almost there." She says as she races to the door to the stairwell on her left now. But instead of going down, she heads up.

…_**You saved my life, now maybe it's my time to save yours. **_

_**But I can never repay you, what you did for me is way more…**_

"We're going the wrong way!" Riddick barks behind her.

"No they are not." She says as she continues to climb. After climbing about five flights of stairs she stops and opens the stairwell door. She peaks her head out to see that the hallway is deserted.

She feels strong hands pull her back into the stairwell. "River, where the fuck are you leading us." He says as he glares down at her.

"You should not ask questions without knowledge…You know exactly where she is going…she is going to Captain Daddy."

This comment seems to snap Simon back to reality. "WHO?" He asks, however his question is ignored.

"How is going up going to get us out?" Riddick asks.

"Umm, hello? Who the hell is she talking about?" Simon tries again. It just earns him a 'you're a boob' look from both Riddick and the girl before they turn back to their conversation.

"They don't suspect it; they will look down, while we will fly away." She says as she turns back to the door and cracks it open to make sure that the hallway is still deserted.

"Almost there." She repeats.

_**…But I ain't giving up faith, and you ain't giving up on me.**_

_**I'm dying, I need you, come back for fuck's sake…**_

XXX

"Are you sure about this Mal?" Wash asks as he hovers several hundred yards away from the hospitals east wing.

"She wouldn't go down, it would be too messy. Better chance of getting them from up top." He says as he studies the face of the building in front of them.

"Yeah but how the hell is she gonna let us know where they are?" Jayne asks somewhat disbelievingly.

"I imagine she'll figure something out."

XXX

Riddick's POV

I could kill the girl for her fuckin' little charade right now. My every instinct was telling me to gut them both, and leave them. Leave all of them behind. I could do it too, her back's turned, the sweet spot is right there… I can almost taste it.

But the moment passes, and the girl walks out the door into a deserted corridor. I follow a moment later, as does the doc.

"What floor is this?" I ask the doc.

"It's nothing right now. It's due to be refurbished soon so everything that was here has been moved out." He says as he walks into the hallway.

River quickly moves to jam the door with a broom leaning up against the opposite wall. As soon as she has done this she starts off down the hallway, her bare feet barely making a sound.

"Twinkle twinkle little bat…how I wonder where you're at…" She says as she wanders further down the hall.

"What exactly are you looking for River?" My patience is stretching thin.

She turns and looks at me now, her hair creating a rather eerie veil. The girl looks like a mental patient. She turns back the other way and looks around, and then quickly moves into a side room.

"Is she always like that?" Simon asks from behind me. He comes up and stands near me, studying where River stood a moment ago.

"You mean creepy? You get used to it." I say as I walk towards the room she entered.

She's sitting on the floor, a trash can in front of her, and she's pouring some liquids into the trashcan. It begins to smoke.

"I need a fire extinguisher." She says without looking up.

"There should be one down the hall where the nurses' station would be." Simon says as he turns and walks back out to get it.

I gotta say I'm impressed that she could make something that fast. "How much of a hole is that going to make?" I ask as a predatorily smirk plays at my lips.

"You will want to stand back." She says as she glances up at me.

XXX

They finally see what they have been waiting for…There is an explosion on the east side, and at least ten twenty feet of windows on the side of the building are blown out.

"That would be our signal." Mal says as Wash pilots them closer.

XXX

River's POV

"What did you just do?" Simon screams after the blast. The hallway begins to fill with smoke.

"She made an exit, now move." Riddick says as he walks into what's left of the room.

The girl and Simon are quick to follow. The floor is littered with broken glass and debris, and she cannot help but smile at her handiwork. The windows have been completely blown out along with part of the concrete wall.

Riddick walks up to the gaping hole to peer out. He scans the skyline and then shakes his head a little at what he sees.

"Calvary is here." Riddick says as the fake emergency shuttle comes into view.

Mal quickly slides the side door open. "You think you could have made a bigger hole Riddick?" He says with a chuckle.

"You can blame the feng-lei one for that. That was all her doing." He says as he hops into the shuttle, turns around and offers his hand to Simon, who hesitates at the edge.

"Like the girl said, if we wanted you dead you already would have been." Riddick says to Simon.

Mal merely shakes his head. "Scaring the poor doctor already Riddick?"

"Just stating facts Mal." Riddick says as Simon grabs his hand and hauls him in.

"River! Get your ass in here!" He yells at the girl.

However, she is unable to move closer to the shuttle…something she has been dreading has rooted her to the spot….Two by two…hand of blue….

XXX

…Reality shifts…

She's standing outside of her body…watching it tremble. She's screaming at herself to move, to run to the others…but all her body does is stand there and shake.

…_**Repress and restrain**_

_**Steal the pressure and the pain…**_

They are getting closer; she can feel them drawing near…hear the footsteps coming up the stairwell.

…_**Wash the blood off your hands**_

_**This time she won't understand…**_

She can't hear the others…can't hear Riddick or Mal screaming at her…can't hear the whir of the shuttle's engines…all she hears are the footsteps getting louder.

…_**Change in the air**_

_**And they'll hide everywhere**_

_**And no one knows who's in control… **_

Everything goes into slow motion now…she watches as her eyes snap open… hears the pounding footsteps down the hall… and watches as her body runs toward the shuttle…

…_**You're working so hard**_

_**And you're never in charge…**_

She can feel the glass stinging at her feet…can feel the air move around her…can hear the guns being fired behind her…and feels something tear through her shoulder as she runs…but she doesn't stop….

…_**Your death creates success**_

_**Rebuild and suppress…**_

She watches as her body jumps into the air…and watches as she barely makes the jump…Mal and Riddick grab her hands and haul her into the shuttle as Wash flies them away from the hospital…She is safe…for now…

…_**Change in the air**_

_**And they'll hide everywhere**_

_**And no one knows who's in control… **_

…Reality shifts again…

XXX

River's POV

Her mind and body become one again, and she looks up at Riddick and Captain Daddy from the floor of the shuttle. There are lots of voices now, and she cannot discern who is who.

"What the fuck was that!"

"Who the hell were those guys?"

"Tell me we weren't followed."

"Nothing in our rearview the whole way back."

"This is crazy. There must have been some mistake."

"Keep dreamin' doc."

She tries to sit up now and screams in pain as she falls back…that's when the attention in the shuttle shifts…all eyes are on her now.

"Oh shit…"

"They hit her?"

"Let me see." And Simon hovers over her now and begins to inspect her shoulder.

She feels his hands and winces in pain…she knows she has lost some blood and she can feel her mind begin to go fuzzy…

"Oh, well, that ain't hardly a mosquito bite."

"Some mosquito." She mumbles to herself.

"What do you feel River. Stay with me."

She chuckles a little now. "Are you asking me to dance...?"

"Tell me your ship has an infirmary?" And that's the last thing she can distinguish from the voices.

"Two by two…" She mumbles to herself.

XXX

"This is not satisfactory." The first man says.

"He will not be pleased." The other man replies as he walks forward and looks out at the city.

"We need to bring him something."

"We shall review the security logs."

"Yes, that should provide something satisfactory."

And with that the two men with their gloved blue hands walk out of the demolished room.

XXX

…A few minutes later…

Riddick's POV

After another minute the shuttle lands in front of a waiting Serenity. Wash opens the side door and they all quickly disembark.

"All right. Take us out of the world, as quick as you can." Mal says to Wash as the group walks up the cargo bay ramp.

"We'll be out of atmo in five minutes." Wash says as he runs up the stairs toward the bridge.

I'm carrying River out of the shuttle when Kaylee comes running into the cargo bay.

"What happened?" Kaylee asks in shock as she looks over River.

"Big mosquito." River says. She's barely conscious now.

"Damn feds managed to knick her shoulder." Mal says.

"Two by two…hand of blue." River mumbles.

"Stay with me River." The doc says as we walk through the cargo bay towards the infirmary.

We are rushing into the infirmary now. I quickly set River down on the infirmary table.

"I need an extractor and some anesthetic." The doc says as he begins to look through the drawers.

Book and Inara come into the infirmary now.

"What happened?" Book asks.

"Do you need help?" Inara asks as she rushes forward.

But that's when the room goes silent as River's blood curdling scream fills the room.

XXX

River's POV

She can barely feel anything as the torrential flood of emotions hits her square in the chest. It's like the winds of a hurricane, and the sheer force of them causes her to gasp for breath as she sits up and looks between the horrified Inara and the equally horrified Simon who stand staring at each other. Their voices scream in her head.

"…_YOU!..." _

"River?" Captain Daddy asks as she begins to struggle to breath.

"River?" Riddick says as he moves to hold her down on the infirmary table.

She sees everything…everything hidden behind the flood gates…the music…the memories…the missing puzzle pieces…and the last thing she hears before her vision blurs and she blacks out is Inara's voice in her head…

"…_I'm sorry, I didn't know…"_

XXX

AN: Please don't hate me! I know you guys are going to kill me for ending at that point, but I promise it will be worth it! It was always in my head/ intentions to have Simon play a key part, and I have been DYING to write this scene. I hope you all enjoy this twist and can refrain from throwing things at me. It really would be counterproductive to me updating…Till next time ;)


	37. Anxiety, Hidden in the Snow

Anxiety…Hidden in the Snow

XXX

Riddick's POV

It took three doses of meds to calm her down, and only then it was by knocking her out. I haven't left the infirmary since she screamed. The look on her face is burned into my brain.

Inara hasn't left the room either. It's kind of eerie though; she just sits there looking at River with these kinds of vacant eyes. What's intriguing is that Inara hasn't said a thing to the doc since he came on board. The woman is usually full of questions but she hasn't said shit…and they both have avoided looking at each other.

"How is she?" Mal asks the doc as he walks into the infirmary.

The doc just responds coolly. "I can't do anything more until she stabilizes."

"Will she?" I ask.

"I can't say yet." The doc replies coolly again.

The doc comes over to examine River again and Inara immediately moves to the other side of the room. Their little charade is getting to be frustrating.

"I want know what's going on here." I say as I look between the two of them.

"Well, we won't know anything until she wakes up." The doc says.

"I don't mean with her, I mean with you two."

And now both of them turn and look at me with wide eyes.

"Did I miss something here?" Mal asks.

"The way these two have been acting makes is seem we aren't privy to something they know. Maybe the reason why the girl screamed bloody murder before the doc gave her the drugs."

"That so?" Mal asks Inara and the doc.

"How is it any of your business?" The doc spits out with a sneer. "What could you possibly have to do with my sister anyways?"

That irritates the fuck out of me and before I know it I am up and have the doc pinned against the wall…shiv to his throat.

"I've killed men for using a tone like that before. Be thankful you're her brother." I say, but I don't remove the shiv.

"Riddick, for Buddha's sake you're going to give the kid a heart attack." Mal says from off to the side.

"As far as I'm concerned he and she…" I say as I jerk my head towards Inara. "Owe us some answers."

"She's my mother." Comes a soft voice from behind me.

I turn and see a barely coherent River trying to sit up on the table.

XXX

River's POV

The voices screaming in her head are what pull her from her drug induced slumber. Angry, accusatory voices…

She hears his voice before she sees him. "As far as I'm concerned he and she…. Owe us some answers."

"She's my mother." She manages to get out.

She tries to sit up now. Her limbs feel as if they are made of tissue paper. Stupid drugs.

"How are you feeling?" Inara asks as she walks towards the girl to help her sit up.

The remnant of the emotions she felt begins to well in her chest and she feels a tear slip down her cheek. The soft notes and chimes of some long forgotten song play through her mind. They are oddly beautiful given the melancholy they carry with them. They remind her of a lost SOLDIER who was told everything he remembered about himself was a lie, something constructed for an experiment.

"Betrayed." She says as she glares at Riddick. "Would you mind letting him go? She would like some answers before you attempt to disembowel him."

Riddick hesitates and the girl narrows her eyes at him. He finally relents and lets Simon go.

"You were never supposed to know." Simon says as he rubs at his neck. It's not an apology, just a statement of fact.

"She is amazed that they hid it from her so well…" She bites out as she looks over at him.

"Oh don't give me that crap River…I've had to deal with your temper tantrums my entire life."

"Irrelevant. You weren't subjected to what she went through."

"Yes, I forget, you were so deprived as a child." Simon retorts.

"Hey you two, keep the fighting to a minimum till we get some answers." Mal interjects in a very fatherly tone that immediately draws Simon's ire.

"All due respect Captain, I fail to see how you have any say over this."

Captain Daddy isn't happy now. He's tempted to follow Riddick's route and can feel the tingle of thoughts about his gun…

Inara brings them back to reality though. "I didn't know it was you till I saw him." Inara says as she casts a sympathetic glance towards the girl.

"How?" The girl asks in a small voice.

"He was there when your …when they collected you. I never knew their names…but their faces have been etched in my memories ever since that day. He grew up, but there was no doubt in my mind it was the same little boy I saw that day."

"Why the hell would someone do that?" Mal asks.

"It's a common practice, not a well known one, but common. Our…my mother didn't want to go through another pregnancy. Inara was matched based on the qualities that my parents were looking for." Simon easily supplies.

The words sink into her mind and she can feel sadness and anger well up inside her. "She knew there was something…something so familiar and utterly perplexing…a darkness that shouldn't have been in your repertoire…." She says as she swings her feet off the table and jumps off. Her feet are wobbly underneath her, but the adrenaline that has begun to course through her veins steadies her.

"Bit' shouldn't you sit…"

"She is fine." She bites out as she begins to hobble towards the door.

"River, you really shouldn't…"

"SHE SAID SHE IS FINE." She yells at Simon as she walks out of the infirmary.

XXX

Riddick's POV

"Let her go doc." I say as she walks out of the infirmary. I know she needs to cool down after the bombshell of information she just got. Hell, I'd be tearing the place apart if I found out everything I thought I knew was part of a sick twisted reality…and I don't doubt River is about to destroy something.

"So what do we do now?" Inara asks the room.

Mal waits a moment before he answers. "Bit just needs some time to cool off. We just let her be for the time being. In the mean time we got business to attend to." He says as he shoots me a glance and I nod.

"What business is that, exactly?"

Mal turns and gives him a murderous look, but the doc doesn't back down. Stupid kid.

"I just got dragged out of my life and thrown into this and I can't know? Is it gold? Drugs? Pirate treasure? What is it that could be so important?"

"You don't wanna go down this road with me, boy." Mal bites out.

"Look I don't know what kind of low life scoundrels you all are, but…" He doesn't finish his sentence though as Mal decks him. He goes tumbling. Mal looks down at him.

"This is MY boat…you might do best to remember that." Mal says as he walks out of the infirmary with Inara hot on his heels.

I chuckle. "Saw that comin'."

This just earns a relatively murderous look from the doc on the floor. There is a hint of River in that look.

"Save it…You know you may want to drop the high and mighty act doc, people don't usually last long around here with one."

"That a threat?" He says as he gets up.

"Just a piece of advice." I say as I walk out of the infirmary.

XXX

…Somewhere else in the verse…

"This is a joke right?" He sits at the cortex and rubs at his temples after his underlings delivered the news.

"What do you mean that you failed to bring in Dr. Tam or Subject Zero."

The two men exchange a look and the turn back towards the monitor. "They evaded capture. They were assisted by an individual we have yet to identify." The taller man says in a monotone voice.

"I'm very disappointed." He says as he begins typing in a series of numbers into his cortex.

"We understand sir, we have sent the security footage we recovered to you and apologize again. This will never happen again sir."

He takes a deep breath and exhales. "I know." He says as the feed abruptly disconnects with static left in its place.

"Men, like nails, lose their usefulness when they lose their direction and begin to bend." He says to himself as he begins pulling up the security feeds they sent him before their…disposal.

He quickly scans till he sees her face exit the morgue. "Interesting." He says as he watches a man exit behind her.

XXX

Riddick's POV

I'm leaving the infirmary when I run into the Shepherd in the hallway.

"How is she?" He asks.

"I'd stay clear of her for a while. Girly got a bombshell dropped on her. Apparently Inara's her mother."

His eyes go wide at this. "What!"

"That's what she was screaming about before the doc put her under apparently; she heard it from the doc and Inara."

"How did she handle the news?"

"Apart from the screaming? How do you think? Girl had a fucked up childhood, parents that basically sold her to her tortures, and then she finds out that the woman she murdered wasn't even her mother."

"It's unfortunate that she must endure so much."

XXX

River's POV

Her eyesight still blurs from the lingering drugs. One minute she is standing in their bunk…the next the room blurs into her memories…

…Reality shifts…

The chimes of bells punctuate the air… a chill settles across her skin, and she watches the scene unfold before her.

It's some sort of family dinner…there are at least twenty people around the table. She's seated at the table next to Simon and one of her cousins. Everyone is talking about simple pleasantries aloud, but there are whispers of truth.

"_Why did they go through with it?"_

"_They should send her back."_

"_She's not one of us."_

They didn't make sense then…the questions, the glares, and accusations of an outsider…She doesn't really remember picking up the knife when she became frustrated with the whispers, but she does remember the screams as she lashed out at one of the whispers.

…Reality Shifts Again…

The sensation of the cold metal under her feet makes her open her eyes, and once again she's standing in their bunk. The floor is littered with shredded pieces of paper, clothing, and feathers from the mattress. Like the memory she doesn't remember picking up the knife, but she's still holding it when she looks down.

She releases it and it falls to the floor. Her knees give way and she slumps to the floor like a rag doll…and for the first time that she can remember…she cries.

XXX

AN: I am so sorry that it took me so long to post something new. Law school was kicking my ass. I hope you all enjoyed the reveal of Inara's secret. I know it may seem like I barely touched on it in this chapter, I promise it will come up again.

The songs alluded to in this chapter may be a little hard to find…Anxiety is from the Final Fantasy 7 soundtrack, and Hidden in the Snow is from Trent Reznor's soundtrack for the Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.


	38. Roads

Roads

XXX

…_**Ohh, can't anybody see**__**  
**__**We've got a war to fight**__**  
**__**Never found our way**__**  
**__**Regardless of what they say…**_

He finds here there...curled on the floor, numb to all the emotions swirling around the ship. She doesn't feel anything but her own pain…He doesn't ask her what's wrong. He merely picks her up and puts her on the bed…among the shreds of everything in the room.

…_**How can it feel, this wrong**__**  
**__**From this moment**__**  
**__**How can it feel, this wrong…**_

She doesn't say anything when he climbs in behind her and wraps an arm around her and pulls her close… she merely listens to the beating of his heart as her eyes become heavy and she begins to slip off into sleep.

…_**Storm...in the morning light**__**  
**__**I feel**__**  
**__**No more can I say**__**  
**__**Frozen to myself…**_

XXX

River's POV

Several hours later…

She doesn't know when, but sometime in the night she got up…left the warmth of their bed and climbed the ladder out of their bunk. She isn't fully awake until the motion sensor in the mess hall picks up her movement and turns the lights on.

She's startled at first…but when her mind begins to process again she settles down.

She goes to the dining table and sits down…running her fingers along the knots in the wood idly. Her fingers come to rest upon a knife that someone forgot to put away and begins to twirl it between her fingers.

That's when she picks up on the faint footsteps behind her and her mind registers the thoughts floating towards her.

"River?" Book asks softly behind her. "What are you doing up?"

"Couldn't sleep…too many questions…"

He sighs and moves to sit at the table with her. "Would you like some tea?" He asks.

"No, thank you." She says as she continues to twirl the knife in her hand.

"You know you can talk to me about anything you need to child." He says with sincerity.

She stops twirling the knife but doesn't put it down. They sit in silence for a minute before she can vocalize anything

She feels the trickle of a solitary tear down her cheek. "She doesn't understand…she doesn't comprehend…too many questions…too many lies."

He moves to take one of her hands in his. "I'm not sure what to say River."

The sit in silence again…all he can do is try and offer her comfort.

Several minutes go by before she speaks again. "How do I find the answers?" She asks.

"I don't think you can River…but I think you can be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves. It's unfair, but maybe if you do not seek the answers, which cannot be given you, you can live them. If you do this, maybe you can find some peace."

He gets up from the table and she watches as he moves to leave. He places a hand on her shoulder in reassurance before he retreats back to his room.

She just continues to sit in silence.

XXX

Elsewhere in the Verse…

He stands at the window looking out at the stars. His back is turned to the door and he doesn't acknowledge the young officer when he walks in and deposits the requested file on his desk. The officer waits for a moment, unsure of whether he should leave.

The operative merely raises his hand and dismisses the officer without a second thought.

Once he hears the door close, he turns around and walks to his desk. He opens the file and briefly glances at the name and photograph attached.

"Richard B. Riddick." He says with mild amusement.

"Oh what an interesting pair you two make."

XXX

…A few hours later on Serenity…

River's POV

She hears them…buzzing about the mess hall…their thoughts and words permeate the air around her. They feel sorry… They don't understand… Well, all but two.

She can feel the daggers and scalpels from their minds…but they aren't pointed at her…they would much rather slice and dice the other.

Her eyes narrow…their male posturing is irksome. Orpheus should know better than to taunt the weaker…and Simon should know better than to stare down a wolf.

She walks away from the common area, back towards the infirmary…she shivers slightly, she doesn't want to be there, but there is something she needs, something Simon needs to see…to understand.

She collects what she needs and walks back towards the common area. She feels Inara, Kaylee, and Book's eyes look at her as she enters…Jayne just averts his eyes. She feels their concern…she even feels sorrow from Jayne behind his indifferent demeanor.

"River." Inara says.

The girl doesn't pay her any attention though; she isn't ready to address that issue.

She walks up to Simon and glares. "Here." The girl says as she shoves stacks of files towards him.

"What's this?" He asks skeptically.

"In rivers, the water that you touch is the last of what has passed and the first of that which comes; so with present time." She says as she shoves the files at him again.

"Meaning?"

"She means that it's her files Doc…The ones from the Academy." Riddick says from across the table.

Simon takes the files now. "How did you get these?"

"A friend." She merely replies. She then walks out of the common area without another word to anyone.

XXX

Riddick quickly gets up from the table and follows River out of the room .

"Are they always like this?" Simon asks the room as he opens the first file.

"Kinda _feng-le_, talks in riddles, and the big guy chasing after her? Yeah you get used to it." Jayne says as he hocks some spit to help sharpen his knife.

"Could you _not _do that while we're…ever?" Simon says with disgust.

Jayne spits again and Simon grimaces.

XXX

Riddick's POV

"River." I say as I stalk after her. She doesn't pay any attention though and just keep walking towards the bridge.

"River." I say again.

"Business first…pleasure later." She says as she walks through the door to the bridge.

"Captain Daddy." She says with mock sincerity.

"How many gorram times do I have to tell you NOT to call me that!" Mal asks with mild indignation.

I chuckle slightly…never get's old.

"Apparently a few more sir." Zoe says from her seat on Wash's lap.

"It is rather amusing though." Wash says with a small chuckle.

Mal turns to glare at the two slightly. "When I want the opinion of the peanut gallery, I'll ask for it." He then turns his attention back to River. "Was there something you needed or are you just trying to annoy me today?"

"She would like to inquire if Mr. Universe has provided a suitable buyer for the meds from Ariel."

"Matter of fact he has…came through this morning." Mal says as he hands her a piece of paper.

She studies the name and then hands the paper back to Mal. "That is an adequate figure." She says.

"Could've made more." Wash says in a low voice.

"That wasn't a bad idea, Wash, but eliminating the middle man is never simple as it sounds."

Wash is surprised by this admission from Mal. "You heard about...?" He says as he looks towards Zoe who now seems a might twitchy.

"About fifty percent of the human race is middle men and they don't take kindly to being eliminated. This quadrant, we play nice. We got enemies enough as it is…Besides, we couldn't go directly through Mr. Universe without there being a risk of his source getting into hot water, and the guy he sent us to didn't take much more than we expected."

There is an awkward moment of silence before River breaks it. "So where is the drop?"

"Circe." Mal says.

XXX

…Elsewhere in the Verse…

"I want a four point bulletin…all the major merc squads and players are to be informed." He said to the officer trailing behind him as he walked toward the bridge.

"What should we list as the bounty, sir?"

"Three hundred thousand platinum."

The officer falters in his step slightly as he hears the figure.

"…And four hundred thousand for her."

XXX

…A few hours later on the bridge of Serenity…

Mal, River, and Riddick have left Wash to pilot Serenity towards Circe. Zoe remains sitting near him. The tension is the room is palpable.

Wash finally breaks the silence. "So... when you said that you didn't get a chance to tell the Captain my idea..."

"Mm-hmm?" Zoe says bracing for the argument.

"What you actually meant was... you told him my idea, he rejected it out of hand, and you didn't argue the point or even give it another thought."

"I gave, honey, I-I –"

But she's cut off by Wash's continuing rant.

"And then came the lying to me about it, which for me is sort of the highlight of this little adventure.

Zoe pauses. She knows she's in deep. "Is there any way I'm gonna get out of this with honor and dignity?"

"You're pretty much down to ritual suicide, lambie-toes."

She sighs. "I didn't want to upset you."

"What did you think of it?" He asks.

"Of what?"

"My idea…Call the local MDs. Forget the fence, go straight to the source. Better prices, and we know the drugs get to the right people."

She shakes her head in the negative "The Captain thinks it'll get back to someone. Just cause trouble."

This is what sets Wash off more though. "_Tai-kong suo-yo duh shing-chiouh doh sai-jin wuh dhu pee-goo!_ Was I ever not asking what the Captain thought!"

"Well, I tend to agree with him." Zoe says as she crosses her arms. She really doesn't want to have this argument again.

"Tend to, or have to?" Wash asks skeptically

"I thought your plan was too risky…I thought."

"Then tell me. I am a large, semi-muscular man. I can take it. Don't hide behind Mal 'cause you know he'll shoot it down for you. Tell me."

Zoe rolls her eyes now. "Right. Because what this marriage needs is one more shouting match."

"No, what this marriage needs is one less husband…Right now it's kind of crowded." Wash says as he leaves the bridge.

For the first time in awhile Zoe doesn't know what she should do.

XXX

…Elsewhere in the verse…

"Hold please." He says to his henchman. The man stops.

He approaches the man that is bound and chained before him. "So now we are past the preliminaries - the little questions: why you skim from protection fund? How you could betray  
my trust. This we are past. Now we get to the real questions about who you truly are."

And now he produces a knife.

However, before he can proceed a man enters the room.

"I'm sorry, sir."

He turns around annoyed now.** "**I get to heart of matter and always _interruptions_!"

"One of our long-ranges picked up a read on the other side of the world. It might be _Serenity_. Malcolm Reynolds' ship.

Now the man smiles in excitement. "Oh. Oh, this is exciting news. Send a team. Bring him here to me.

The underling leaves the room and the man turns back to the issue at hand. "Now, we get to spend some time finding out about your true self. Tell me..." he says as he stabs the man. "...are you familiar with the works of Shan Yu?"

XXX

Author's Note:

Okay I am so sorry for the extremely long delay in updating this story. Law School is kind of a bitch that has me in a creative lockdown at the moment. However, I want to reassure all the people still reading this story that I do intend to continue, it just may take a little longer than I 1) originally hoped 2) the updates will probably be shorter in length to make sure that I update more frequently.

As always thanks for caring and the review =) they mean a lot. Till next time…


	39. XEcutioner Style

AN: Okay I am so very sorry that it has taken me forever to update. A few things first 1) I have not forgotten about this story, law school is just a bitch 2) since it is finally summer now I will have more time to write (yeah! Does a small happy dance) 3)I know a lot of people follow this story and I am so appreciative of that, so I promise to try and give you guys more updates over the next few months.

Anyways…on with the show!

Chapter 38…X-Ecutioner Style

XXX

River's POV

She doesn't want to talk to either of them…she's attempting to avoid the inevitable headache that they will give her. But they are both persistent _ben tiansheng de yidui rou._

As soon as the girl had finished discussing the price and drop of the med supplies from Ariel with the Captain, Riddick had pounced like the waiting beast that he is…He wanted to "talk," which she just wanted to avoid. She had no desire to discuss her familial relations at the moment…neither her brother…nor her long lost "mother."

The girl could have handled it two ways…the mature face things head on approach…or the other, which was to avoid it…which is what she picked.

As soon as she left the bridge…she ran.

"RIVER!" He bellowed after her, but she didn't stop.

She ran through the halls as fast as she could…trying to outrace the whispering threads that pulled at her. While Riddick may have had strength on her…she had speed…and knowledge of all the hidden crevices in Serenity.

XXX

Riddick's POV

"_Gaoyang zhong de guying…he chusheng zajiao de zanghuo… nee ta ma duh. tyen-shia suoyo duh run doh gai si_." He muttered under his breath as he stalked through the halls.

I nearly runs through Jayne as he proceeds down the hall. "Lose something Riddick?" Jayne says with a slight smirk.

"Not up for your crap right now Jayne." I say as continue searching for the slip of the girl.

I get to the mess hall and look around…and am not happy to find the girl's brother there…he rolls his eyes when he sees me…must be a family trait.

"So I take it that chasing my sister through the halls of the ship is a daily activity for you?" He says as he continues to read over part of the girl's file.

"Not in the mood Doc." I say.

"They say a man's love, till it has been chastened and fastened by the feeling of duty which marriage brings with it, is instigated mainly by the difficulty of pursuit." The Doc says under his breath.

"I told you…not in the mood…don't make me say it again." As I stalk over to the table he is sitting at.

"I'll do and say as I please…" He says as he stands from the table…the chair scraping the floor behind him.

"Ah the sounds of a brawl bout to break out." Mal says as he walks into the room followed by Jayne and Zoe. "Hate to break up the fun, but we're 'bout to go do the thing with the people Riddick."

I grit my teeth and turn back towards the Doc. "Well isn't this you're lucky day." I say as I shove the table and walk towards the cargo bay to grab my gear.

XXX

River's POV

She can hear their screaming voices…the daggers and scalpels…they claw at her head like razor blades… she squeezes her eyes shut to try and block them out. Silently screams in her head.

…_**Shut up…Shut up…Shut up when I'm talking to you**__**  
**__**Shut up…Shut up…I'm about to br—**_

She feels it sweep over her…she hates that she can't control it…hates that her mind goes in and out…

…Reality Shifts…

"**Wasn't that fun? Let's try something else…"** He says with an almost gleeful smile.

She's looking at a memory…she sees herself strapped to a gurney, Dr. Mathias standing over her… a nurse holding dozens of different types of syringes next to him.

They're trying to break her…break that "defiant streak" she has… it's for her own good he says…She spits in his face.

_**…Forty-five caliber killa**__**…  
**__**Smooth talking, fully automatic weapon concealer**__**  
**__**Taste thriller, break thriller**__**  
**__**Let's hit 'em with the bounce filler**__**  
**__**Filthy stinking, standing on solid ground…**_

She's frustrated, she wants to scream…to run…to fight…but she can't…she's tied down and held so tightly she can barely breathe.

"Curiosity is lying in wait for every secret." Dr. Mathais says as he injects her with another syringe.

…_**In the back of the spine where my dawgs, they lie**__**  
**__**Going to flip it straight up, ripping apart your squad**__**  
**__**X-ecutioner style, cuts and blends like a syringe**__**  
**__**Hanging you from each of your limbs…**__**…Shut up…Shut up…Shut up…**_she screams in her head over and over…

…Reality Shifts again…

XXX

Zoe is preparing one of _Serenity's_ shuttles for take-off while the Captain and Riddick stow various weapons and the cargo.

"Lucrative as this stuff is, I'll be glad to see the last of it. Kinda makes us a target for every…" But Mal doesn't get the chance to finish as he is cut off by Zoe.

"Was someone in here messing around? The ignition sequence is all turned about. I can't even..."

"I can." Wash says as he walks in.

"Well get it set, would you, Wash? We gotta get moving."

"Here's a funny twist: no." He says as he crosses his arms in front of himself.

"No what?" Riddick asks.

Wash merely smiles. "No."

"Change the sequence?" Riddick asks.

"Didn't want you taking off without me. In fact, didn't want you taking off at all. Thought I might take this run instead with the boys instead of you Zoe."

"Umm, since I am the Captain and standing right here I can tell you that's not gonna happen?"

"Well, it's a dangerous mission, sir. I can't stand the thought of something happening that might cause you to come back with another thrilling tale of bonding and adventure. I just can't take that right now."

"Okay, um, I'm lost. Uh, I'm angry, and I'm armed, so if you two have something that you need to work out…"

"It's all right, sir. We've deal with Bolles before. Shouldn't be a problem. And I wouldn't mind sitting this one out."

"Oh, this is a fine _fang-tzang fong-kwong duh zie_ but I don't have time to unwind it. Wash. Get her started. Zoe, ship is yours. Better to leave it to you then Jayne."

Zoe grabs her guns and begins to walk out of the shuttle.

"Bye, hon! We promise not to stop for beers with the fellas!" Wash says as he sits down and starts the engines.

"So, are we gonna sing army songs, or something?"

Both Mal and Riddick just look beyond annoyed at this point.

The shuttle detaches and flies away from Serenity.

Wash is in the driver's seat, Mal riding shotgun, while Riddick leans up against the back wall.

After a few minutes Mal breaks the silence.** "**Look, this thing with you and Zoe..." Mal starts.

"Really not looking to talk on that topic." Wash answers tersely.

"_Hey_. I let that _niou-se_ trick of yours slide because this is a milk run. But when I go on a mission, I'm taking Zoe and that's the drill. You know that. I mean, what happens if we get into a situation here?

"Hey, I've been in a firefight before!"

"Really little man?" Riddick asks in disbelief.

"Well, I was in a fire…Actually, I was fired from a fry-cook opportunity…I can handle myself."

Riddick rolls his eyes behind his thick goggles. "Oh this is going to be tons of fun."

XXX

Mal walks easily across the sand, Wash trailing behind him. Riddick is perched on top of a hill nearby. After burying the bounty he is taking up a sniping position. Three armed bandity guys approach from the other direction.

Mal digs into his pocket and produces the sample of the drugs and flips it over to the main bandit.

"Nice to know you're still trustworthy."

"I'm not so trustworthy I don't want to see the money we were promised."

The man holds up his hand. Another guy puts a bag of coin into it. The main guy then tosses it to Mal, who opens up the bag to take a look.

The main guy hooks his thumbs into his belt, feelin' chatty. "Man, can't believe you guys knocked over an Alliance hospital. The pair you have.

Wash smiles, but Mal's still all business.

"Yeah, the stuff legends are made of..."

Mal looks up and sees a red dot on the bandit's forehead…It's a laser sight.

"Oh, shit!"

A shot is fired. It hits the guy square between the eyes and he goes down, dead.

XXX

Riddick's POV

"_Taikong suoyou de xingqiu saijin wo de pigu…"_ I say as I try and pick off the swarm of guys that are now surrounding the Captain and Wash.

They've got at least four snipers on another hill and have me pegged down after I took out three of their guys.

Before I can get to a better position they are gone though…fast burn rocket shuttle…great, this is just great.

I walk towards where the shuttle is located when the entire thing explodes in front of me. Fucking great…this is just not my day.

XXX

"Jayne, grab your weapon." Zoe says as she enters the common room where Jayne and Book are playing cards.

He looks up a little confused. "Why? What's goin' on?"

"Maybe nothing. Maybe trouble."

"The drop?" Book asks.

"They're late. They should've been back more'n an hour ago…We go by ground. We'll take the mule."

Jayne merely nods and gets up from the table.

"I'll go with you." Book says.

This startles Jayne and Zoe a little. "No offense, Shepherd, but I sure as hell hope they don't need a preacher."

"Three sets of eyes are better than two. Might see something you don't."

Zoe considers this. "Let's move. I'll get River too."

Jayne and Book head to the cargo bay as Zoe heads to the infirmary.

XXX

River's POV

The lights blind her eyes when she wakes up. She stares up at the infirmary lights confused as to how she got here.

"We found you unresponsive in one of the air vents. Your arm was sticking out." Simon says as he cleans some of the infirmary equipment.

"It's a side effect." The girl says as she sits up.

"From the injections?" Simon asks as he turns towards her.

"She isn't sure…she can never tell what was the cause and effect of what they did to her."

Simon places the instrument he was cleaning on the counter and walks towards her now.

The girl can hear the music of his mind…full of questions; looking for answers…it's time to face the music.

"I finished going over your files." He says with seriousness in his voice.

"Hope abides; therefore I abide, Countless frustrations have not cowed me. I am still alive, vibrant with life…The black cloud will disappear, The morning sun will appear once again…In all its supernal glory." She recites.

She begins to run her fingers through her hair…idle hands…

"I'm sorry." Simon says.

And this astonishes her. Her brother rarely surprises her…but he has right now.

"…_For not being there…when you needed me…" _His unspoken words bring tears welling in her eyes.

The girl opens her mouth to speak just as Zoe walks into the room.

"River, we need you…something is wrong."

"They aren't back?"

"Nope, Jayne, Book, and I are head to the drop point to find out what happened."

"Okay." The girl says as she swings her legs off the table.

Zoe walks out of the room and towards the cargo bay.

"River, I…" Simon starts.

"She knows." She says as she offers her brother a small smile, hops of the table, and then walks out the door.

XXX

…At the drop site…

When they finally get to the drop site they can see the billowing smoke of the shuttle.

"Took you all long enough." Riddick says as he gets up from sitting on a piece of the wreckage.

"What the hell happened?"

"Who did this?"

River doesn't say anything though…she's processing…taking in everything that the fragments in the air are telling her…tracing them back to their origin…

"This is precision work: sharpshooters. From the look of these wounds, I'd say a 54-R sniper rifle, laser sights." Book says as he examines the bodies.

"You do a lot of shooting at the abbey there, Shepherd?" Jayne asks skeptically.

Riddick has a small smile…privy to how the preacher would know this.

"Rabbits." Book replies dryly.

"For stew, sure." Jayne says.

Jayne harvests some guns off the corpses and sticks them in his gun belt.

"They weren't here for the goods were they?" Zoe asks Riddick.

"No… they came on a fast burn rocket shuttle. They were here for us. Had me pinned down I couldn't get any return fire. At least twenty men."

"Craft like that not commonly part of a ship. More likely we're looking at…"

"Space station."

And there is a dead silence as it hits them all…all except River who has been silent the entire time…

"Niska."

XXX

…Niska's Space Station…

Wash and Mal are blindfolded with their hands bound behind their backs..they are herded into a dark room by two guards. The two guards shut the door behind them. Mal slowly begins casing the joint, blindly feeling his way around the room to assess its dimensions and dangers.

"You okay?" Mal asks

"I think I've been kidnapped." Wash replies in a panicky voice.

"Yeah."

"You see where we are?"

"No."

"Mal, what the hell is going on?"

"Ain't rightly sure." Mal says as he begins to feel along the edge of the room.

"But you've got some theories." Wash says still panicky.

Mal works his way towards the middle of the room now and begins feeling around the construct in the center. "Still working it through."

"I don't want you to spare me, Mal. If you think you know what's happening, then you tell me. You wouldn't spare Zoe if she were in this situation with you, would you? You would be planning, and plotting and... possibly scheming. So whatever Zoe would do in this instance  
is what I wanna do. Do you know why? No matter how ugly it gets, you two always come back with the stories. So... I'm Zoe. Now, what do I do?"

"Probably not talk quite so much."

"Right. Less talking…." He's still panicky. "She's terse. I can be terse…Once in flight school, I was laconic." Wash keeps the silence for a couple of seconds, then blurts, "If I'm not gonna talk then you have to. What else?"

"We just gotta keep our heads."

"Right. "Keep our heads." That way we'll be able to... you know... keep our heads…You and Zoe have been in plenty of situations like this before, right?"

Mal lies. "Many a time…Once we know who it was took us…"

"Zoe and you together in a tricky...hey, wait…Mal, she's my _wife_!"

"Huh?" Mal says confused as he turns towards the direction of Wash's voice.

"What gives you the right to put her in a dangerous situation like this?"

"I didn't!"

"You did!" Wash yells.

"She ain't here, Wash."

"No, but she would have been!"

He's got Mal beat there. "Okay."

"I mean, I'm the one she swore to love, honor and obey." Wash waxes on.

"Listen... wait, She swore to _obey_?"

"Well, no, not...But that's just my point! You she obeys! She obeys you! There's obeying going on right under my nose!"

"Look, Zoe and I have a history. She trusts me."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Don't mean a thing, but you're making out like she blindly follows my every word. That ain't true!"

"Sure it is!"

Mal's getting irritated now. "Not so. There's plenty orders of mine that she didn't obey."

"Name one!" Wash yells.

"She married you!" Mal yells.

Jest then the door screeches open, breaking the tense moment. Mal feels someone taking off the blindfold from his face. But the face he is greeted with is not who he wants to see… On the list of all the faces Mal doesn't want to see..this takes the cake.

"_Tah-mah-duh huun-dan_."

"What?" Wash asks, still blindfolded.

XXX

AN: Don't hate me for leaving it with a cliffy! (Hides behind something as I say this) I mean let's face it you knew it was coming. Some of you may say that I flipped Simon quite fast, BUT, I want to assure you all that Simon and River will not have the relationship they had in the series/movie, think of it as two steps forward…one step back. Till next time ;)


	40. Hanging on and a small refund

AN: Sooo… I bet none of you thought I would update this soon huh? (Squeals in delight) The plot bunnies have infested my mind and I had to listen to them. I hope you all enjoy this next installment. Thank you to Rachet, SeanHicks4, and The Doctor Rose for the recent reviews. As always, I own nothing…now on with the show!

Chapter 40 Hanging on and a small refund

XXX

…An hour or so later on Serenity…

River's POV

She's calculating…she trying to find the solution to the equation…So many variables, so many different outcomes.

The voices of the crew float around her…hover just above the surface…but they don't penetrate her mind right now…all that enters is the numbers and calculations.

"We need a plan." Zoe says with authority.

"We could pony up the money we have left from the meds." Kaylee says.

Jayne grunts. "You think Niska is likely to go for that?"

"Don't think that's like to happen. This guy has his own code, _twisted_ as it may be. He's very excited about reputation. In his mind he's been wronged, and he'll do what he thinks is just." Book says.

Zoe says. "Could try and get Wash off with the money though."

"Could be he's harboring some resentment at us for putting his man through our engine." Riddick offers up.

The only voice that isn't crowding the room is Inara's…she's sitting rather passively, taking it all in…like mother, like daughter the girl supposes.

Its then that she catches a glance from Inara…just a small flick of her eyes towards the hallway, and the girl understands…Inara extricates herself gracefully from the scene and the girl waits a few moments before she follows…

XXX

Riddick's POV

A small amount of movement catches my attention from the corner of my vision. I briefly catch a glimpse of River exiting the room. Now where could she be off to?

"Riddick? What do you think?" Book says and this snaps my attention back to the discussion at hand.

"Full frontal assault isn't likely to work. We risk too much going in there guns blazing…and we are seriously lacking in numbers to pull it off."

"Anybody else got any other ideas?" Zoe says and everyone begins throwing out ideas.

"I might be able to get the schematics for Niska's space station from Mr. Universe." Book says after a moment. "We would at least be able to see what we are up against that way."

"Worth a try." Zoe says as she, Jayne, Kaylee, and Book all head towards the bridge.

As they leave I look towards the door that River went through earlier and cock my head to the side…what are those two up to?

XXX

River's POV

They stand conspiratorially in one of the passenger dorms…their voices hushed…their minds plotting.

"Are you sure?" Inara says with a look of trepidation.

"Odds are not in their favor…they possess enough creds to secure Wash…but Captain Daddy would still be in harm's way."

"But River what you're suggesting is just…well…borderline psychotic."

She just shrugs her shoulders and gives her a small smirk.

"What if I bargained for Mal?" Inara asks.

The girl chuckles. "Careful, your suggestion reeks of psychotics."

"Ah, so you and your mom are both wacked?" Riddick says as he enters the room.

The girl smiles a predator grin. "She is unsure. There's that whole nature versus nurture question…Was she born a cute, vindictive, little bitch or... did society make her this way? The girl goes back and forth on that..."

"Can you two please be serious for a moment?" Inara practically scolds and the girl rolls her eyes.

"We need a plan, one that doesn't involve mass stupidity and suicidal solo missions." Inara says.

The girl winces at her choice of words…she feels the pin pricks of Riddick's irritation.

"Care to explain that one Riv?"

She huffs. "Not really."

"I can make you." He threatens.

"She would enjoy that."

"River wanted me to pilot my shuttle to the space station and ask for an audience with Niska as a cover for her to sneak on board." Inara says to avoid any more veiled threats.

"Really." He practically growls.

"It was a plan with the best odds."

He cocks his head to the side now and the pricks begin to change…she can feel the wheels turning in his mind…She smiles when the gears click into place.

"You up for a game little girl?" he asks with a feral grin.

She returns his grin. "She thought you would never ask."

XXX

…On Niska's space station…

Mal and Wash are tied back-to-back, both being electrocuted via electrodes on their chests. They aren't screaming, but they're in some serious pain. Niska looks on with delight while the other man in the room mans the electricity…after a minute or so he turns the electricity off.

"I'm not... gonna say it... again. Shipboard romances complicate things." Mal says between rasping breaths.

"For who? For yoou?" Wash slurs.

"For everyone."

"Well, what about lo…" But he is interrupted when the electrodes turn on again, painfully zapping Mal and Wash. Again they stay on for awhile and then turn off.

Mal is trying to take in as many breathes as possible. "I ain't against it as a rule... but in situations… such as ours,… it tends to cause problems…. It splits loyalties."

"Knnoww wha I thinkkk?" Wash asks

"What?" Mal says with an exasperated breath.

The electrodes go on again, zapping Mal and Wash. Wash is beginning to falter a little, sagging when the electricity shuts off.

Mal looks over his shoulder towards Wash…concern growing on his face.."What, Wash? What do you think? Because…I'm interested." He says as he tries to keep Wash going.

Wash lifts his head weakly…"This "policy" you got against shipboard relationships - that's just you projecting…your own intimacy issues on everyone else."

And Niska signals for the electrodes again. Wash and Mal shake and writhe in pain until the electricity goes off.

"Course, could be a lot simpler than that. Could be I just don't think you're good enough for Zoe."

"And I don't give a good gorram what you think." Wash yells.

"Oh, don't you? Zoe and I, we got a history, and I figure you gotta be asking yourself some fundamental questions as to the nature of that history."

Wash almost chuckles. "You never slept with my wife."

"Oh? That a fact? You know that for sure, do you? You ever ask her?" Mal taunts.

And the electrodes go on again, making the two men shake in pain. When the electricity shuts off, Wash's head is hanging.

"Hey. We been together for a long time before you came along, Wash. And she's a _damn_ fine-looking woman." Mal says as he laughs.

Wash can only respond weakly. "Never happened. Know how I know?"

"How? Tell me." Mal taunts in effort to keep Wash talking.

"This whole Captain thing isn't Zoe's trouble. It's the-guy-she-never-slept-with thing. Hell, Mal, I wish you had slept with her. Then at least she'd be over it."

"Oh, you want me to sleep with her? Would that make you feel better?"

"It might." Offers weakly.

"Oh, I'd imagine it would do wonders for her, too."

Wash finds the strength to yell now. "Screw you!"

"Get in line!" Mal yells back.

And there go the electrodes again. When the electrodes shut off, Wash slumps down, nearly unconscious, and pretty damn dazed.

"Okay, Wash, I'm gonna do it." But Wash isn't answering now and Mal is alarmed. "Wash! Wash, listen! First thing we do when we get back..." but Wash still isn't responding. "Listen to me!" Mal yells and he can feel Wash stir a little. "First thing when we get back, I'm gonna... I'm gonna take your wife into my bed."

"Yeah?" Wash ask weakly.

Mal visible releases a breath as he hears Wash speak. "I'm gonna get me a piece of…"

And we're back to the torture.

XXX

…Back on the bridge of Serenity…

"Oh Derrial…your Captain certainly knows how to piss off the wrong people…" Mr. Universe said on the comm.

"Yes, he does have a knack for that." Book says with seriousness. "Is there any way to repay you for getting us these schematics?" Book says as he moves to pull up the file that Mr. Universe had just sent over.

"Oh no, the crew of Serenity is the most amusing thing I have had to watch in awhile. Consider it on the house. And please tell that delightful River Tam I say hello." Mr. Universe says as he cuts off the connection.

"Hey where is Riv?" Kaylee asks.

"Here." She says as she enters the room followed by Riddick and Inara.

"We have schematics for Niska's space station." Zoe says as Book pulls them up on the screen.

"And we have a plan." Inara says much to everyone's surprise.

XXX

…Inara's Shuttle…

Zoe sits quietly piloting the shuttle towards the space station, River and Riddick standing behind her. Both are dressed in black cargo pants, black tee shirts, and have a variety of small weapons strapped to their bodies.

"I'm not sure about this River." Zoe says as they approach the space station.

"Your apprehension is unfounded." She says as she reassuringly places a hand on Zoe's shoulder.

"Niska isn't the type to let things go."

"He won't kill them. He wants to play with them first. By my calculations we have at least ten hours before he will commence with killing."

"Yeah, that's all kinds of reassuring." Zoe says sarcastically.

XXX

… A few minutes later…

Zoe docks the shuttle and powers down. River and Riddick had moved to their position before Zoe had docked the shuttle and were safely outside the shuttle in their space suits hanging on to the edge of the shuttle. The plan was to enter through one of the exterior air vents that they had discovered in the schematics that Mr. Universe had sent over. Zoe would ransom Wash off the space station and then return to pick them up after getting back to Serenity and arm up. It was risky…but when were they not up for a little risk?

Zoe walks through the double doors with her hands raised… holding the bag of ransom money. Five or six armed guards meet her and pat her down.

"I'm unarmed…I wanna talk to Niska."

XXX

Riddick's POV

"You every worry our plans always involve us hanging off of something?" I say as River works on unscrewing the air vent screen.

She doesn't turn away from her work to answer me. "Occupational hazard."

As she unscrews the last screw the screen begins to float off.

"We're in." She says as she begins to move into the vent shaft.

I chuckle. "And here... we... go…let the game begin."

XXX

…Elsewhere…

Zoe is escorted by four armed guards through the space station. She passes by a large, circular shaft filled with machines assembling parts and mental shudders. She knows that River and Riddick are going to have to traverse that room at some point.

A guard opens Niska's office door with a keycard. They pass through the office to another room and Zoe steps into the room where Mal and Wash are being tortured.

Mal and Wash look terrible, but she steels her nerves. Niska grins maniacally.

Wash looks up and his expression becomes one of horror when he sees his wife. "No, no, no, no... Run, run..." he says weakly.

Zoe approaches Niska and hands him a roll of cash. "It's five times what you paid us for the train job."

"Yes. You have had, you say it, good times... I see that."

"Should be more than enough to buy back my men." She says stoically.

"This is your opinion, is it?" Niska asks with a twisted grin.

"It is."

"They are perhaps damaged now. Are they worth so much to you?"

"Yes." She answers quickly, and she immediately knows where this is going to go.

"And to me, they are worth more. I think this is not enough. Not enough for two. But sufficient, perhaps for one…Ah... you now have…"

She points at Wash immediately. "Him."

Niska looks almost surprised. "I'm sorry. You were going to ask me to choose, right? Did you want to finish?" Zoe asks.

Niska motions for Wash to be released. He slumps to the floor as his bindings are undone. Zoe moves to help him up.

"He is yours. We are ended now." Niska says with a wave of his hand as if dismissing an errant child.

Zoe drapes Wash's arm over her shoulders and supports his weight. Wash can barely walk.

"Mal..." Wash says weakly.

Wash looks over his shoulder at Mal. Mal shakes his head.

"Shh. Just keep walking." Zoe says under her breath.

She gets to the door before Niska speaks again. "A moment, please."

Zoe mentally curses her husband at that moment. She squeezes her eyes shut and steals her nerves for whatever Niska has in store.

XXX

River's POV

She can feel the apprehension rolling off Zoe…they aren't far now, maybe two or three stories away…it's not close enough to pick up all of emotions swirling in the room, but it's enough to give her an idea of what is going on.

"Something up?" Riddick asks from behind her in the vent.

They are crawling on their bellies through the ventilation system, making their way to the central chamber where they will have to scale the walls up to reach the next vent.

"Pain…apprehension…Captain Daddy is in trouble."

"When is he not?" Riddick says sarcastically.

She glances over her shoulder and give him her signature you're a boob look.

"I love it when you look at me like that…like you want to murder me with your eyes."

She tries to suppress a small smile and her eyes narrow. "She can kill you with her brain." And she turns and continues on.

"As long as your ass is the last thing I see I'm okay with that he says."

She rolls her eyes.

XXX

…Meanwhile…

Zoe and Wash carefully turn. Zoe props Wash up against the door frame.

"This money, it is too much." Niska says to Zoe. He then turns and speaks in Czech to the torturer.

He turns back to Zoe. "You should have some small refund."

The torturer then takes a machete off the table nearby and walks over to Mal and cuts off his left arm. Zoe watches impassively. Wash turns his head and looks as if he is going to be sick while Mal screams in agaony.

Niska then takes Mal's arm and hands it to Zoe. "Now we are ended."

Without a word or a blink, Zoe takes the arm. Then, as Mal screams, she supports Wash as they walk away from the torture chamber.

XXX

River's POV

When she feels the pain…it hits her like a tidal wave…she can barely support her own weight…and she screams through gritted teeth.

"River?" Riddick says behind her.

"Daddy…" She can barely say with tears welling in her eyes. "His wings have been clipped."

"Let's move." Riddick says.

She slowly nods and pushes onward. She quickly takes a turn and reaches another vent screen. She unscrews the screws holding it in place and twists her body to where her feet can kick the screen out.

She crawls out on to a small ledge, Riddick following right behind. They look up and down…taking in the scene.

The girl repeats what she said earlier. "Occupational hazard."

"Uh huh, whatever you say."

XXX

After what feels like a lifetime of painful steps Zoe helps Wash into the shuttle. Wash goes down on his knees. Zoe joins him on the floor, comforting him as best she can.

"He's insane."

"I know it." She says sympathetically.

Wash is panting and catching his breath. "I mean, you've told the damn stories. Saved you in the war…I-I didn't know..."

"You mean Mal?" She says with some surprise.

"He's crazy. He wouldn't break, Zoe…He kept me from..."

"It's okay." She says hugging Wash tightly.

"I wouldn't have made it."

"Shh..." Zoe whispers to him.

"Niska's gonna kill him."

"We already got a plan in motion baby. We just need to get back to Serenity." Zoe says.

"Then what the hell are we sitting around here for." Wash says with renewed enthusiasm, and he moves to the pilot's seat and fires up the shuttle.

XXX

AN: Yes, yes, I know you are probably not happy with me for cutting it off here. (Yes, that was an intentional pun). But let's face it, the cliffhangers make you want to read more (and hopefully review to vent your frustrations lol). I promise to update soon…till next time ;)


	41. Smack My Bitch Up

AN: This chapter was a little more difficult to write than I originally anticipated. I have been waiting for the right time to really push River to a breaking point and this seemed like the best opportunity to give you all a taste of things to come from her, and to also show you how similar she is to Riddick at the same time. Shout outs to: Ookami Sakura, Rachet, SeanHicks4, and hideher for the reviews. It really does mean a lot when people take the time to tell you what they think of your story. As always I do not own anything, please don't sue…and now on with the show!

Chapter 41 Smack My Bitch Up

XXX

Riddick's POV

"You know, we really need to re-evaluate whether Mal pays us enough." I say as grab on to the next metal protrusion sticking out from the wall.

"Usually she would be apt to disagree, but under these circumstances it seems reasonable." River says from below me.

We have spent the last thirty minutes scaling what feels like a sheer wall of metal; avoiding moving robotic arms and sparking wires. We have another fifteen meters before we reach the next ventilation shaft.

I look back over my shoulder and down to where River is having some difficulty with the next grab.

"You know, for some government trained assassin, you sure are slow at climbing."

I hear a huff of annoyance from her. "She has a considerably smaller arm span than you Richard…not all of us are blessed with Furyan strength either."

"All I'm saying is if you can't keep up, don't step up." I say with a chuckle.

This earns a small laugh from her as she makes the next grab. "The girl is more than happy to remind you of how well she can keep up at a later time…but right now is not the most opportune moment."

"Mmm…Can't wait honey."

XXX

…Back on Serenity…

Zoe helps Wash out of the shuttle's pilot seat and out on to the landing. They are greeted by Book, Jayne, Kaylee, Inara, and Simon all rushing to the shuttle.

"Thank God, you're safe." Book says as he lets out a breath he didn't even know he was holding.

"You okay? What happened?" Kaylee asks.

Simon pushes his way to Wash now. "Let me take a look. How bad it is?"

"I'm fine." Wash brushes past Simon and towards the bridge.

"Is Mal alive?" Inara asks.

"For now." Zoe says as she ducks back into the shuttle to retrieve something. "Take that to the infirmary. Put it on ice." Zoe says as she hands Mal's arm to Simon.

"Oh dear lord." Book says in shock.

Kaylee and Inara nearly burst into tears and immediately leave the cargo bay.

"_Huh choo-shang tza-jiao duh tzang-huo_." Jayne says as he slams his fist into the metal railing.

"We're getting him back." Zoe says with determination.

"Well, it's a clean cut. With the right equipment, I should be able to reattach it…That's assuming there's a head." Simon says as he inspects the arm and turns to go to the infirmary.

XXX

River's POV

Once they had scaled the inner chamber, the rest was meant to be a walk in the park…however, nothing is ever that simple…While Mr. Universe's schematics had been accurate so far, they did not include what was now before them.

"You have got to be kidding me." Riddick says as he stands next to her..

They had crawled through the ductwork and come to an opening big enough to stand in…however it was also big enough to have a maze of lasers that needed to be traversed in order to continue on.

"Remind me to thank that techno-geek the next time I see him will ya?" Riddick says with annoyance.

The girl merely rolls her eyes and begins mapping the field. "If you're walking down the right path and you're willing to keep walking, eventually you'll make progress."

"Sounds like bullshit to me Riv."

Now she just turns and glares at him. She moves forward and begins to traverse the maze…each step calculated…each one purposeful…she imagined it looked a lot like dancing from the outside.

A few minutes later she has made it across and turns to look at the rather un-amused Riddick.

She smiles and throws his words back at him. "If you can't keep up, don't step up."

"Yeah yeah, well not all of us are quite as bendy as you are…I think I'll find my own way from here…I'll see you when I kill Niska before you." He says with a small salute of his hand and turns and enters the vent they came out of earlier.

She scoffs and turns and continues down the vent in front of her.

XXX

…Elsewhere…

"Do you know the writings of Shan Yu Mr. Reynolds?" Niska says as the other man punches Mal in the face.

Mal groans and spits blood. "We're starting a book club? What? Are you trying to tor…" and he is cut off by another punch "...trying to torture me?"

Niska laughs. "Yes, today we meet _you_. Yes, and you are quite a man. An extraordinary man. Yes, but these are not times for extraordinary men. Business is not war. Heroics are unseemly. They complicate."

The other man delivers another punch.

"What was that? Couldn't quite hear you through the bullshit." Mal says and again spits blood.

Niska visible grimaces and picks up what looks like a metal rod and hits Mal with it. "Do you hear me now?"

"No, I didn't quite catch that."

Niska hits Mal again.

"Still not getting it."

Niska drops the metal rod and signals for his henchman to deliver more blows.

"Ok, I got it…." Mal says after he stops. "Shit, I lost it."

The henchman continues to deliver pounding blows to Mal's face and body.

Niska crosses the room and begins to examine things on the table while the beating continues.

XXX

Wash, Zoe, and Jayne are gathered around the common room table…an array of guns, knives, and grenades laid out before them.

Jayne hands a gun to Wash. "Here. Six shots, and then just drop it. Keep moving."

They are all business right now…nothing else entering their heads…only they plan at hand.

"Grenades?" Wash asks Zoe.

"Oh, yes. Thank you, dear." She says as she takes them and hooks them to her belt.

A few moments later Book, Kaylee, Simon and Inara enter the common area, each holding one or two weapons.

"What's this?" Zoe asks.

"We're going with you." Kaylee says. "If it were any one of us, Cap'n wouldn't hesitate."

"Preacher, don't the Bible have some pretty specific things to say about killing?" Jayne asks.

"Quite specific….It is, however, somewhat fuzzier on the subject of kneecaps."

"Uh huh..sure. Like rabbits Preacher?" Jayne says with a smirk.

"In a manner of sorts."

"River's plan didn't call for you all to be put in harm's way." Zoe says with authority in her voice.

"Yes, well I'm sure she accounted for the fact that we would…she was always very good with chaos theory." Simon says somewhat comically.

"Fine, but you and Kaylee are to hold the ship…we are going to need you in the infirmary the minute we have the Captain on board." Zoe says as she finishes cocking her last gun.

"Alright then, let's go get the rest of our crew." Jayne says as he picks up Vera.

XXX

River's POV

She crawls on her belly through the duct work…the bowls of the beast of the space station…She can feel herself getting nearer to the Captain, his shrieks resonate louder in her brain.

Each movement forward brings on more anger…more determination…people should really know better than to touch what she considers hers.

XXX

Riddick's POV

Girl had brains, no doubt, but he had certain…finesse…that she just didn't possess yet. He had managed to find his way through the ductwork to a locker room for the guards that worked on the space station. He had quickly grabbed a helmet, jumpsuit, and security badge and then proceeded to exit the room.

XXX

"For you, I have, uh... special machine..." Niska says as he pets the black device. "Very precious."

Mal cranes his head to look with a great amount of discomfort. "And they say people don't look like their pets." He says slightly exhausted.

Niska chuckles. " Let us see if we can meet the _real_ you."

The torturer smiles a bit evilly and a metallic whirring sound starts up. He attaches the device to Mal's chest and it crawls and claws inside, almost like a metallic spider.

Mal screams, long and loud.

XXX

River's POV

She feels the agony he is going through…her body tenses…and is racked with pain… She tries to reach out to him …she can feel him slowly slipping and the tears begin to run down her cheeks…

She calls to him subconscious…tries to give him her strength…_"__Anyone can give up, it's the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together when everyone else would understand if you fell apart, that's true strength.__"_

But that's when she feels it…the chord is cut…there is no more pain…nothing…just emptiness….and she screams in agony…

XXX

The torturer pokes a motionless Mal in the shoulder a few times, and then turns to Niska.

"Yep. He's dead."

Niska's brow furrows…he is not pleased. "Bring him back."

XXX

River's POV

She continues on…pressing on faster…harder…the only thought that consumes her brain is the thought of what Niska's head will look like mounted on her wall.

Every fiber of her being is consumed by hatred…by anger…by insanity.

XXX

…Back on Serenity…

Everyone is huddled in a darkened _Serenity_.

"You really think this'll work?" Jayne asks quietly, a slight nervousness to his voice.

"Well, except for the comm static, I'm piping out on all frequencies. We've been completely powered down since I fired the attitude thrusters. We should show up on their screens as a radar  
glitch if they aren't looking too close." Wash says as he mans the helm.

"What if they are looking too close?" Jayne asks.

Wash chuckles. "Hell, I'm just glad we're on course."

"It's like throwing a dart, Jayne, and hitting a bulls-eye 6,000 miles away." Zoe says proudly as she claps a hand on Wash's shoulder and squeezes it. "That's my man."

"You guys better get down to the bay. We'll be at their front door in less than a minute." Wash says to the other two.

They both exit and Wash continues to fiddle with some dials and direct the course.

When Zoe and Jayne get to the cargo bay they see the others, milling around anxiously. A nervous energy can be felt in the air.

Book begins strapping some containers onto the small cargo loader.

"Book, you good?"

"Yes, ma'am. Ready when you are.

Zoe turns to Kaylee now. "Kaylee, how you doing on that override sequence?"

"Pretty sure this'll pop their airlock doors if Wash can get a seal on the first try."

"Smellin' a lot of "if" comin' off this plan." Jayne says.

"You coulda stayed in your bunk." Zoe says with a smirk.

"Coulda, shoulda, woulda." Jayne says and then proceeds to cock Vera.

Wash comes down the stairs, calling out to everyone. "We're set."

"Okay, people... If it moves, shoot it." Zoe says authoritatively.

"Unless it's the Captain!" Kaylee pipes in nervously.

Zoe shakes her head and corrects herself. "Unless it's the Captain."

XXX

There is a guard lazily sitting at his post, reading a girly magazine like the ones Jayne has in his bunk. He sits there smirking at the magazine when he realizes static is coming from his monitor. He hits a few buttons and sees Serenitydocking. He hits the alarm.

XXX

Masl is lying on his back, chest bloody. There is an electronic whine and the torturer applies a defibrillator to MAL's chest again. Eventually, Mal's eyes pop open and he breathes.

Niska calls to him in a sing-song voice. "Mr. Reynolds?...Mr. Reynolds?" When Mal looks towards him he smirks. "You died, Mr. Reynolds."

"Seemed like the thing to do." Mal says with a groan.

"When you die, I can't hurt you anymore and I want two days, at least. Minimum. I think many people know the name Malcolm Reynolds. Many know he crossed Niska. They must know what happens after that."

That's when the alarm begins to blare and Niska looks visibly irritated.

Mal merely smiles. To him that alarm is the sound of the cavalry.

"Listen if you got guests, I can come back later." Mal says with a chuckle.

XXX

River's POV

She's directly over Niska's office now…her rage pouring off of her in waves… She kicks in the ventilation vent cover and quickly jumps out into the office.

That's when she is greeted by two thugs standing guard at the door. The eye her like a piece of meat… each one pulling out blades that look like a butcher would use to carve up a calf.

"Ooohhh. You want to play…Come on!" She says as she pulls out two blades of her own.

The beat builds in her head…slowly its rhythmic tones begin to build…increasing the adrenaline rising through her veins. The guards are waiting for her to make her move and when the beat drops…she attacks.

…_**Change my pitch up, smack my bitch up.  
Change my pitch up, smack my bitch up…**_

Between the music in her head and the sounds of metal clanging as the knives clash against each other she becomes lost in the dance…the dance allows her to be out of herself…Larger, more beautiful, more powerful…

Her body bends and flexes with such ease…grace….that she hardly notices the times when her knives make contact with the skin of the guards…she barely even feels the blood droplets hitting her skin…she's completely entranced by a thirst to mutilate the two men who stand in her way.

…_**Change my pitch up, smack my bitch up.  
Change my pitch up, smack my bitch up…**_

XXX

Riddick's POV

When the alarm sounds it sends everyone into frenzy. Men running down each corridor…guns being drawn. He makes it down several more corridors before one of them finally calls out to him.

"Hey where are you going?" The guard asks.

But I keep walking in the other direction.

"Freeze!" The guard yells, and I hear several guns being cocked behind me. I slowly glance over my shoulder and smile.

"You boys afraid of the dark?" I asks before I pull out two of my guns and shoot the lights in the hallway out.

XXX

Three guards stand in front of the opening bay door. As the door opens, they're blinding by a bright light coming from _Serenity's_ cargo bay. An engine revs, and then the cargo loader speeds off Serenity's cargo bay and into the space station, prompting the blinded guards to shoot at it. It crashes into a guard and explodes.

Jayne, Zoe, and Wash advance down the ramp into the space station, shooting. Zoe tosses a grenade around the corner into a corridor.

Everyone is shouting now between the explosions and gunfire. It's hard to tell who is saying what as mixed calls of "Move, move, move" and "Take cover!" call out to the crew. One of the guards stumbles out of the corridor, his back on fire.

Once a majority of the guards have been killed Zoe calls back to the rest of the crew. "Second team!"

Book, Kaylee, and Simon advance down the ramp.

"Hold this position! We lose this position, we lose it all. You're going to hold this ground.  
…Understand me?"

Book fires at a guard advancing down the hallway. Hits the guard in the kneecap, prompting the guard to fall forward and crack his head open on a jutting piece of metal.

"Understood."

XXX

Riddick's POV

"I swear…they don't train them like they used to." As I look around at the bodies littering the hallway.

It hadn't been much of a fight at all…once the lights went out the guards had blindly started firing, all I had to do was hit the floor and wait for them to reload.

Their confusion and lack of coordination had been their downfall. As they tried to progress down the pitch black hallway I easily slipped behind them and picked them off one by one.

"Off to fry bigger fish." I said I as I turned and walk down the last corridor before Niska's office.

There are no guards in this one and I open the door with the code Mr. Universe had supplied without any difficulty.

When I step into the room…I'm slightly amazed at what I see.

XXX

River's POV

She feels another person enter behind her and she instinctively turns and hurls one of her throwing knives at the person before she can register who it is.

Riddick snatches it out of thin air before it touches him though. "Nice throw." He says. Anyone else would have been nervous…her beast was just turned on.

She catches a smirk on his lips and its then that her blinding bloodlust rage is broken. She looks around at the state of the room and realizes that she has not only painted the roses red with the blood of the guards….but she is also covered in their blood as well.

That's when she picks up more heavily on his arousal…his little dancer…his iron queen… she blushes.

"Later." She says as she turns and begins the override sequence to the inner room where Mal is being held.

XXX

Niska, thoroughly annoyed by the commotion he hears outside, walks over to the comm box in the wall. The torturer turns his back to Mal. Mal doesn't move, but his eyes show he's alert.

"Viktor, what is this? Viktor!" He calls presumably top one of the now deceased guards.

Suddenly, the torturer arches his back and screams, falling to his knees to reveal Mal standing behind him. Mal's attached the little black torture device to the torturer's back.

Mal steps over the torturer's writhing body and punches Niska in the face with his remaining arm. Niska falls to the floor.

"Looks like business ain't running so much as crawlin' away….You want to meet the real me now?" Mal asks angrly.

As Niska looks up at Mal in fear…the door behind them cracks open, and Mal looks up to see Riddick and a blood soaked River.

XXX

River's POV

"Nice to see you're still alive." Riddick says with a chuckle.

Mal grimaces "Nice of you to finally show up."

River shrugs her shoulders. "There was a debate as to whether you pay us enough. After all, if you're good at something never do it for free." She says as she walks over to where Niska lies on the floor in fear.

There, there, old man…" She says in soothing voice that quickly turns to a maniacal growl. "Let's put a smile on that face!" She says as she takes one of her knives and sticks it into his mouth.

"River?" Mal asks.

"Not now Captain Daddy…she's working."

Riddick chuckles and watches the scene unfold. "Yeah not now Captain Daddy I want to enjoy the show."

River turns her attention back to Niska now…Slowly pulling the knife further out along his cheek…stretching the skin and leaving a small trail of blood. "You've hurt many people in this room…she can hear the voices dripping off the walls…they tell her to make you suffer…make you scream… Retribution often means that we eventually do to ourselves what we have done unto others."

She then slices through the right side of Niska's cheek…leaving a gaping slit that extends his half his mouth another three inches.

He screams out in pain and she quickly slices the other side as well.

Mal doesn't say anything…but she can feel a mix of discomfort and pride rolling off of him.

"Do you want to know why I use a knife Mr. Niska? Guns are too quick. You can't savor all the... little emotions. In... you see, in their last moments, people show you who they really are." And with that she takes the knife she was holding and impales it through his windpipe…his eyes go as wide as saucers…and she lets herself twist the knife deeper…enjoying all the little emotions spilling out through his eyes.

After a minute she turns and moves away from the now very deceased man at her feet. Mal gives her a look that she can't quite place and she studies it for a moment. That's when he begins to smile and she returns it with one of her own.

"That's my bit." He says as he begins to walk out of the room. Followed by River and then Riddick.

XXX

AN: SQUEALS! I really hope all readers out there enjoyed this chapter! While we have seen the demise of Niska, there are a few more lose ends to clear up with the rest of the crew before the War Stories plotline is officially wrapped up. As always, reviews (good or bad) are appreciated. Till next time ;)


	42. Heavy

AN: I am so sorry for the lag in updates…again. But I have managed to break the evil writers block spell and put together this update! Hope you all enjoy! As always I own nothing, I just play with all the amazing characters.

Chapter 42 – Heavy

XXX

After finishing their business with Niska, the trio made their way thru the halls and towards the sounds of gunfire. They were greeted halfway to Serenity by Wash, Zoe, and Jayne. They then made their way back to Serenity. Book, Kaylee, and Simon had managed to hold their position long enough, and as soon as everyone was on board they quickly closed the cargo bay doors.

Once they heard the click of the doors, everyone, including River gave a sigh of relief. Simon didn't waste any time after this, and immediately began giving orders so that he could attempt to save Mal's arm.

It wasn't as easy as they had hoped for…but they were eventually able to stabilize Mal's bleeding and reattach his arm. Simon, River, and Zoe had worked for the last three hours to ensure that the arm would take, and Jayne had supplied a blood transfusion to ensure that Mal would not die of blood loss. Once they were done, Simon gave Mal a sedative to put him to sleep, and everyone began to trickle out of Serenity's infirmary…all but River and Simon.

XXX

River's POV

The girl sat at Mal's side, gently stroking the arm that they had worked so hard to reattach. After everything that she had felt him go through…she needed to make sure he was alright.

She could feel Simon looking on with more than mild curiosity…and some unfounded assumptions.

"Your assumptions are fallacies." She said without looking at her brother.

She can feel Simon's surprise without looking at him. "It just seems odd."

She merely lets out a breath and shrugs her shoulders. "When one has not had a good father, one must create one."

"River, our father…" but she cuts him off before he can finish.

She whirls on him now with hatred in her eyes. "…was partly responsible for the torture I suffered… and they deserved the fate that she gave them."

"They were our parents!" Simon yells at her now.

"NO! They sold me into slavery…they allowed her to be carted off like a piece of livestock…they were not _my _parents." She turns now and continues to watch the sleeping Mal.

There are a few moments of silence before Simon can speak again. She can hear him trying to ask the question…it's on the tip of his tongue.

"Ask her." She says without looking at him.

"Why? Why come back for me? If your childhood was so miserable, our parents so cruel, why not give me the same fate as them?"

"There's no other love like the love for a brother. There's no other love like the love from a brother... You cannot be held responsible or punished for their mistakes. And she would not allow them to use you against her…maybe one day you will understand, but the girl did what was necessary."

XXX

…Several hours later…

Mal had woken up groggy and pleasantly surprised to find his arm reattached. "I was kinda partial to it and all." He said to Simon after thanking him for re-attaching it.

Once the Doc' had cleared him to leave the infirmary, he asked where Zoe and Wash were and headed in the direction Simon pointed him.

He finds them sitting at the dining table. Zoe is at the counter behind Wash dishing up food. She comes around the corner and sets a bowl in front of Wash, shaking out his napkin and tucking it into his shirt.

"Mmm. Wife soup." Wash says and Zoe chuckles. "I must've done good."

"Yes, dear. You done good." Zoe says as she smooches Wash's cheek and puts her arms around his neck.

There's a pained groan as Mal enters the kitchen area and Zoe lets go of Wash.

Mal smirks. "Did you tell her?"

"Tell her what?" Wash asks.

Mal turns to Zoe now. "Your husband has demanded that we sleep together."

"Really?" Zoe says with mock surprise.

"What? Mal, come on."

"He seems to think it would get all this burning sexual tension out in the open - you know, make a fair fight for your womanly affections."

"No. That was the torture talking. Remember? The torture?" Wash practically squirms in his seat.

But Mal pays no attention and takes Zoe's hands. Puts one of her hands on his hip, the other on his good shoulder.

"I know it's a difficult mission... but you and I... have to get it on." Mal deadpans.

Zoe doesn't give anything away as she plays along. "I understand. We have no choice."

Zoe and Mal stand about a foot apart, staring at each other. Absolutely nothing resembling The Sexy is happening.

Jayne walks into the kitchen area just in time to hear Zoe say, "Take me, sir. Take me hard."

Jayne grimaces. "Now somethin' about that is just downright unsettling."

Wash throws down his napkin as Mal and Zoe mock-struggle to kiss each other from a foot away. Wash grabs Zoe and escorts her to the door.

"We'll be in our bunk." Wash calls behind him.

Disconcerted, Jayne turns around and walks toward the dinner table. Mal is slowly, painfully pulling out a chair.

"Oh, hey." Jayne says as he smacks Mal's back unconsciously before sitting down at the table where Wash was sitting. "Free soup."

Mal makes a tiny grunt of intense pain and freezes, glaring at Jayne.

XXX

…Elsewhere on Serenity…

After River had Simon assure her at least a dozen times that Mal's arm would properly heal, she had allowed Riddick to carry her out of the infirmary and to the showers. They were both still covered in dirt from crawling through the ventilation system and blood from the various people they had killed.

XXX

River's POV

He didn't even bother undressing her before he pulled her into the spray of water from the shower…He just attacked her lips with his and pinned her to the wall. Her senses begin to be overloaded…the water hitting her skin…his lips and hands roaming all over her…and the music filling her ears…

…_**I was a heavy heart to carry  
My beloved was weighed down  
My arms around his neck  
My fingers laced to crown…**_

The weight of the wet clothing now begins to pull on their limbs and they each work to pull the fabric sticking to their skin off so as to allow them to move more freely.

…_**I was a heavy heart to carry  
My feet dragged across ground  
And he took me to the river  
Where he slowly let me drown…**_

He pushes her back now to where her body is entirely under the water…and small rivulets of water begin to wet the dried blood on her skin and leave a trail down her body. He practically growls at the image of her…standing like Venus rising from the foam…except the foam is red from the blood on her skin.

She's getting impatient though…she can feel him restraining himself…he wants to savor the way she looks…she narrows her eyes at him…

…_**And is it worth the wait  
All this killing time?  
Are you strong enough to stand  
Protecting both your heart and mine?...**_

"Her patience is wearing thin." She says as he rakes his nails down her skin.

He looks up at her thru hooded eyes...his fingers digging deeper into her hips. His mouth twists into a form of smirk, and her eyes grow a little wider as she picks up on the fragment of his thoughts.

He crouches down now, his breath trailing down her stomach…He inches her legs slightly further apart. It takes every ounce of control to not scream at him to hurry up.

…_**Who is the betrayer?  
Who's the killer in the crowd?  
The one who creeps in corridors  
And doesn't make a sound…**_

His tongue darts out and slowly caresses her folds…now she really wants to scream…he's trying to torture her…

" .iddick." She manages to squeak out.

"Hmmm?" He says as he softly blows on her skin. Her senses are being entirely overpowered now with both hers and his thoughts and she can barely contain herself…

"If you don't fuck me soon, _I will_ murder you."

He chuckles…"Don't have to tell me twice."

He stands up quickly…he practically hoists her to the ceiling of the shower as he positions her where he wants her. He doesn't waste time after that…

Her body and mind are both overwhelmed with…every touch…every kiss of his lips…every teasing bite leaves her aching for more…and as she gets closer to climax it gets harder for her to muffle her moans…

…_**This will be my last confession  
I love you never felt like any blessing (Ohhhh)  
Whispering like it's a secret  
Only to condemn the one who hears it  
With a heavy heart…**_

The climax together…his name on her lips…and hers in his thoughts…

…_**Heavy heavy I'm so heavy in your arms…**_

XXX

"Interesting." He says as he reviews the footage again.

He's sitting at his desk, reviewing the security footage that was forwarded to him an hour ago. His brow is slightly furrowed, a look of frustration and intrigue on his face.

"River Tam…you are one interesting specimen." He says as he looks out at the print out.

He stops the footage and stands up from the desk.

"Jubal Early is going to enjoy turning you in honey." He says he walks out of the room.

XXX

Author's Note: Hope you guys enjoy the end of War Stories! I'm sure some of you will be excited about mention of Jubal Early (I wasn't originally planning to use him, but I have kind of had a change of heart about where to take this story). Happy Holidays!


	43. Goblins

Thank you to all the people who continually follow and review this story, it really does mean the world to a writer when they get feedback and continued interest. Anyways, on with the show!

Chapter 43: Goblins

XXX

River's POV

…Reality Shifts...

She was floating…drifting…she could feel her mind in the mass of nothingness. It was neither suffocating nor comforting…it was simply…empty. Things begin to blur…she feels the edges become jagged…and something feels...off. She attempts to focus, but every time she tries it just blurs more…like needles in her eyes.

She hears whispers, but they aren't the ones she has come to know. They are like goblins, hushed voices that are trying to say something but she can't quite hear them.

**…****_eat them all the time..._**

She sees Serenity come into view and works hard to pull her mind back…back into her sleeping body. Feels her mind being ripped through the labyrinth of wires and pipes and spaceship innards…twists and turns…until she sees her sleeping form below her…

She wills herself to wake up.

…Reality shifts again…

"We're all just floating…" she says as she stares at the ceiling.

Her dreams are usually unsettling, but this one has left a bitter aftertaste in her mouth. Like vinegar and bay leaves. She reaches out for Riddick, but only finds an empty space beside her…

She rises and sits on the edge of their bed. She grabs the first dress she sees and pulls it onto her thin frame. She doesn't bother with shoes as she turns to the ladder leading out of their bunk. Laughter pulls her in the direction of the common area.

She moves slowly…everything feeling foreign to her…and she traces her fingers along the walls to steady herself. She finds Kaylee and Simon in the common area, sitting together and laughing…

"Oh no! What'd you sing?" Kaylee asks with keen interest.

River takes a step to approach them but suddenly everything in the room seems to pulse and she hears static in her ears…and the same goblin voices from before….

**_…they will blow your mind..._**

The laughter that filled the room a moment before is replaced with coldness and static…River blinks several times and shakes her head to dislodge it….

Simon notices her and looks at her inquisitively. "River? Something wrong?" He asks.

"…Nothing…." She stammers out. The static is gone as soon as it came and River quickly turns and starts up the stairs.

She continues to touch the walls as she moves…hoping the chill of the metal would steady her. She finds Shepard Book and Jayne, engaging in cards.

"Two cards for me." Book says as he throws two down.

"Two fer you, and one fer me." Jayne says as he deals.

Again River tries to approach…but the goblins' voices begin return and she quickly runs the other direction.

**_…Wo hen jiaonian diu lian…_**

It's like a yellow fog following her…licking its tongue into every crevice of the ship. She feels it trying to cling to her brain…she stumbles down the steps and looks around wildly as she walks toward the lower deck looking for Riddick…and just as she is about to escape, it catches her and she hears a twig snap underneath her feet.

She gingerly takes her foot off, and then bends to look at it…She picks it up…it fits well in her hand…and she studies it...

"Just an object…" She says as she wills her brain to fill in the missing pieces…."It doesn't mean what you think…"

It flashes before her eyes…like something from a film reel…"_Nothing here is what it seems. You are not the plucky hero, the Alliance is not an evil empire, and this is not the grand arena…" _

Riddick's POV

I'm just walking into the cargo bay to work out when I see her. River, stark white, holding one of my blades in her hand, blood dripping from where she is holding the blade.

"River?" I ask cautiously as I walk towards her.

She opens her eyes as wide as an animal caught in headlights and stares at me, almost as if she'd never seen me before.

"River…" I repeat again as I walk towards her. "You alright?"

She shakes her head as if to clear her thoughts. "Yes…she just…saw something…that could have been."

"Want to explain why you have one of my shivs then?"

She looks down at her hand as if surprised. "I found it here."

"Come on _bao-bei_, let's get that brother of yours to take a look at your hand."

We both walk back up the stairs towards where we hear people laughing.

XXX

River's POV

She can hear them…but her mind is elsewhere. She cannot shake the feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"I don't get it_ mei-mei,_ from what I have seen you are much more capable with weapons than this." Simon says as he begins to stitch up her palm.

"We sail within a vast sphere, ever drifting in uncertainty, driven from end to end."

"What's that supposed to mean River?" Riddick asks the girl.

"Irrelevant." She says as she looks down at Simon finishing the stitches. "May she go now?" She asks solemnly.

Simon nods in the affirmative. "Try not to move it too much." Simon says as she hops off the table and leaves the infirmary.

XXX

Riddick's POV

I wait until the girl leaves before I turn to talk to the Doc.

"Did you find anything in the files on her?" I ask.

"Nothing that would explain this…Based off their notes the medications are erratic, there's not one that her system can't eventually break down, and you have to recalibrate –"

I'm annoyed by his lack of help. "I want a lot of medical jargon thrown at me, I'll talk to a doctor." I say to shut him up.

"You are talking to a doctor." He says with equal annoyance.

His tone grates on my nerves. I turn to face him now, and to his credit he doesn't back down. "Listen…I know you and I don't see eye to eye. But you're going to have to get your head out of your ass."

"Oh really? So I'm just supposed to roll over and act as if your relationship with my sister doesn't bother me?"

"Since when do you care about your sister anyways Doc? In my eyes you're almost as culpable as those dead parents of yours for her torture."

He lets out an exasperated sigh and runs a hand through his hair. "Look I admit, I may not have liked that River was smarter than me, or how she acted…but I read the files. I know what they did to her. And I'm trying to make up for it."

As much as I hate to admit it to myself, the kid isn't lying. He may be a core yuppie, but he isn't a liar. I'd smell it on him a mile away.

"Look your sister and I are something that you are going to have to deal with. Where she goes I go, and we're still in deep space, Doctor…Corner of No and Where. And we're very much alone out here. So while you may be tryin', you're going to have to try a little harder." I say as I turn and walk out of the infirmary.

XXX

…On the Bridge of Serenity…

"Wash ring up your old friend…see if he's got any more crime for us to be doin." Mal says as he paces the bridge. He's shaking his arm out, trying to loosen the scar tissue from the Doc reattaching it.

"Waving him now." Wash says as he calls up the cortex and enters in the secure code.

It takes a minute, but Mr. Universe pops up on the screen soon enough.

"Hello Wash… and Captain Reynolds…glad to see you are in one piece again." He says as he twists in his chair.

"How did you know?" Mal asks with mild surprise.

"I've been enjoying watching the security vids from Niska's space station…You guys always brings me the very best violence."

"There any news on that?" Wash asks hopeful that there isn't.

"There is no news. There is only the truth of the signal. What I see. And, there's the puppet theater the Parliament jesters foist on the somnambulant public…Niska's space station did not make the puppet theater, but there has been some chatter…don't worry though, I wiped his security feeds after I downloaded them."

Wash and Mal both let out an audible breath they didn't even know they were holding. "Much obliged by that." Mal says.

"So…where is that foxy little minx of ours anyways." He says inquiring about River.

"She is here." River says as she enters the bridge.

"My dear you are an artist and you paint beautifully with blood." He says with a little too much glee for Mal and Wash's comfort.

River merely giggles at the compliment. "Thank you."

"So I take it this isn't a social call." Mr. Universe says.

"Captain Daddy wishes for more crime." River answers quickly. Mr. Universe cracks up at this.

"GORRAMIT GIRL! How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that!"

"You think he'd be used to it by now." Wash says under his breath.

"Well I ain't!" Mal says as he lightly smacks Wash's seat.

"Oh dear, River. You truly are a gem. As a matter of fact I do have some crime to be done. A simple little job, but the pay is decent. It'll take me a day to arrange, but I'll upload the details to your secure account tomorrow."

"We'll be waiting." Mal says.

"See you soon." River says as she waves goodbye to the funny little man.

"Might as well power her down Wash. No use wasting' fuel if we don't have to." Mal says as he exits the bridge.

XXX

…A little while later…

Everyone except Wash and River are sitting around the dining table. They are laughing hysterically. Even Riddick and Jayne, but that could be because there they had nearly killed a jug of Kaylee's inter-engine wine each.

"No! That is not true. No." Zoe says thru her hysterics.

"I swear it is!" Book says as he catches his breath.

"Surely one of you must have told him!" Inara asks as she regains a semblance of composure.

**"**No! Not one among the brethren had the heart to say anything. He was so _proud_!"

With that admission the entire group breaks into hysterics again. Wash and River enter the room as the laughter erupts.

Wash turns and looks at River. "What? What was he proud of? Who he?"

"Hermes was telling funny stories about his life at the monastery." River says as she moves to take a seat next to Riddick.

"Monastic humor. I miss out on all the fun." He reaches for the serving bowl but is dismayed to see it is empty. "And all the food, too, apparently…"

Zoe chuckles. **"**Just who do you think you're married to?" She lifts a napkin off a plate piled with food. "Voila!

Wash smiles. "I love my wife." He says as he lightly pecks her cheek.

XXX

River's POV

"So we clear?" Mal asks the girl.

"Affirmative. We should be secure in this position without running into any Alliance patrols. Or a single living soul, for that matter."

**"**Good. Way it should be." Mal says with satisfaction.

Kaylee moves to take some dishes away from the table, and Simon immediately jumps up.

"Let me help you with that…"

The girl inwardly smiles at this…she can tell her _ge-ge_ fancies Kaylee, doesn't even need to be a reader to see it. Everyone else does too. Unfortunately for both Kaylee and Simon it is likely to take impending doom for Simon to do more than act respectfully to her…And despite Kaylee's best attempts her brother is too dense to pick up on her signals.

"No no, I got it. It's your turn."

Simon looks at her a little clueless. "My turn…?"

"She wishes to hear a funny story about your time at the hospital Simon." The girl says in reply.

**"**Ohh. Right. A funny story…"

"Yeah, 'cos sick people are hi-larious." Jayne says as he takes another swig of wine.

Simon nervously laughs. "Well, they can be... uh... "

"Now Inara…" Jayne starts to say but the girl is quick to cut him off.

"Ape man…you are drunk, if you wish to keep sitting at this table without receiving bodily harm you will quit your line of thinking." She says as she brandishes a shiv.

The girl may have trouble thinking of the companion as her mother, but that does not mean she wishes to see all of the things running thru the ape man's head.

"River put the gorram shiv away, and Jayne just do as she says." Mal says in hopes of avoiding any bloodshed.

"Whatever." Jayne says and takes another swig of wine.

River narrows her eyes at the big man, but does as Mal asks and put the knife away.

"I have a story." Simon says to the surprise of everyone, even River slightly.

"Well let's hear it." Kaylee says quickly before anyone can spoil the moment.

"I was an intern, this one time I was working the E.R. and this, this, uh, fellow, this very upright sort of citizen, was brought in from a car accident. It was relatively late at night and no one else was on call so I was the one to examine him. It was obvious the man's leg was broken, so I told him we would need to cut his clothes off to avoid moving his leg and get him an x-ray and into surgery."

"There a funny part in here Doc?" Riddick asks. The girl lightly elbows him for his rudeness.

Simon continues. "Well, when I told him this, he demands to leave. Even threatens to call his solicitor if I try to hold him there."

"Why'd he do that?" Wash asks.

I roll my eyes. "He's getting there, go on Simon."

"Well it takes a while but sure enough his solicitor comes down and I pull him aside to explain that his client needs surgery. He goes to the man and the man eventually relents. Turns out he had woman's lingerie on underneath his clothes."

Everyone begins to erupt in laughter now.

"Your kiddin'" Zoe says.

"No, the solicitor made me sign a non-disclosure form."

"Why in the hell would he wear that?" Jayne asks between chuckles.

"Turns out the man had a fetish for it."

XXX

…Elsewhere…

He watches his target as readouts come over the screen. There is a heat scan of Serenity, indicating where everyone is on the ship, a blueprint of Serenity showing the layout, names the rooms, shows points of egress, and lists components and operating systems.

Suddenly a message flashes: TRAJECTORY SYNC COMPLETE. LOCKED ON TO FLIGHT PATH.

He picks up the printout in front of him. A warrant for River labeled FUGITIVE, and at the bottom, REWARD 200,000 CREDITS, Alliance Bond Standard. WANTED ALIVE.

Nearby there is an old beat up picture of an older black woman with two small children and a dog on a lawn.

XXX

AN: Hope you guys enjoyed this update. As always feedback (good or bad) is appreciated.


	44. Evil is Going On and Bad Blood

AN: I bet you all weren't expecting such a speedy update? Thank you for the recent reviews from Irishbrneyes, Shenandoah76209, aNarKiiMiiNX, BooklvrAnnie, Rachet, and SeanHicks4. It really makes my day to open up my email and see such shiny reviews. Now on with the show!

Chapter 44: Evil (Is Going On)...and... Bad Blood

XXX

…Back on Serenity…

Dinner has wound down now and Kaylee brings out a bowl of apples for dessert.

"Where the hell did you get these from little Kaylee?" Mal asks in astonishment.

"You all act as if we ain't got some money to spend now. Picked um' up on Ariel when we got the Doc." She says with a huge grin.

"Well shiny!" River says as she reaches for one.

Zoe and Was also grab apples. But instead of bitting into she takes out a small knife and begins to cut it.

"Zoe, how come you always cut your apples?" Kaylee asks as she munches away on her apple.

Wash turns and looks at his wife. "You do?"

**"**Her and the Captain both. Whenever we get fresh fruit, they never just munch on 'em."

**"**Know what a Grizwald is?' She asks with solemness in her voice.

"It's a grenade." Riddick says. He knows all too well what can be done with them.

**"**About the size of a battery. Responds to pressure. Our platoon was stuck in a trench outside of New Kasmir during the winter campaign. More'n a week, completely cut off, and the Alliance entrenched not ten yards away. We even got to talkin' to 'em, yelling across insults and jokes and such, 'cause no ammo to speak of, no orders, so what are you gonna do? We mentioned that we were out of rations, and ten minutes later, a bunch of apples rained into the trench."

Was wants to interrupt for Kaylee's sake. "And they grew into a big tree, and they all climbed up the tree into a magical land with unicorns and a harp."

Jayne rolls his eyes and opens his switchblade. He stabs it into one of the apples sitting in a bowl on the table. Wash is a little startled.

"Blew off their heads, huh?" Jayne remarks.

**"**Cap said wait, but they were so hungry…Don't make much noise. Just little pops and there's three guys that kind of just end at the ribcage."

XXX

River's POV

She can feel the discomfort around the table. It pains her to see how the war affected Zoe. She was not always the warrior woman, there had been a time where she was more like Kaylee…but she cannot forget.

**"**But these apples are healthsome, good." Wash says trying to change the subject.

"Yeah, grenades cost extra." Jayne says as he cut a piece off. Kaylee elbows him in the ribs.

She takes another bite of the apple in her hand…but as she's chewing she feels memories.

…Reality Shifts…

She's standing in darkness…the humidity in the air practically weighs down on her like a thick veil…she doesn't know where this is…has never seen this world.

**_.…Something just ain't right.  
That's evil, evil is going on wrong…_**

She sees lights up ahead…hears voices…she approaches slowly...

**_...You better watch your happy home…_**

Each step she takes she feels more and more pain…more and more suffering…its like a punch to the gut.

**_...You'll catch him just before he goes.  
That's evil, evil is going on..._**

She gets to the voices…just as one of the figures hits the other over the head with a shovel.

…Reality shifts again...

They don't belong to any one at the table…they are haunting…painful…and its unsettling her stomach. But before she can get up to leave…she feels the rush of the explosion in her mind…and her dinner comes back up…unfortunately onto Riddick's lap.

"Fuck River!" Riddick yells.

"Whoa!" Jayne says as he moves away quickly.

Riddick just kind of sits there with his hands up not really able to move with a lap full of vomit.

"River!" Inara says as she comes over to hold the girls hair back.

Simon also rushes up.

"_Mei-mei?"_

"Going... Going back like... apple bits, coming back up. Chaos." The girl says when she can talk without fear of throwing up more. She can feel everything again…it's not helping.

"It's getting very crowded in here." She say as she moves to get up, assisted by Inara and Simon.

"Come on, lets get you cleaned up." Inara says as she escorts the girl out of the room.

XXX

Riddick's POV

"Would one you all mind getting me a towel or something?" I say as I kinda sit there looking River leave.

The preacher gets up and grabs the closest one and hands it to me.

"What do you think that was about?" Mal asks.

"Hard to tell with her." I say as I manage to clean up most of the chunks of food off of me.

"Well here's hoping that Doc can figure something out…Wash, Zoe, why don't you go do a once over on the scans before we all tuck in."

"Yes, sir." Zoe says as she and Wash leave the table.

XXX

River's POV

She hates being in this room…it's too sterile…too white…and it brings back too many memories… But Simon insists on examining her. He's trying…so she lets him. Inara stands near the door…she's conflicted…motherly concern mixed with fear and apprehension…Companions aren't supposed to have families…aren't supposed to care…but she does.

"Well your pupils are responsive." He says as he shines a small light in her eyes.

He continues examining her…takes her temperature…the usual.

"You have any idea why your threw up River?" Simon asks her.

She hides her face behind her hair…one of her few defense mechanisms. "It isn't mine. The memory, it isn't mine. And I shouldn't have to carry it. It isn't mine." She says in a hushed voice.

"What memory River?" The painted flower asks.

"Irrelevant…she cannot name it…it floats in through air…it swims thru her brain…and yet it disappears just as soon."

"Was it from Zoe and Mal?"

"Negative…carnage is nothing new to her…she can stomach carnage…she cannot stomach pain."

XXX

…Serenity's Bridge...

Wash is at the helm, Zoe beside him.

"Little River just gets more colorful by the moment. What will she do next?" He says as he looks at the readout in front of him.

"It's a toss up between mass murder, dumping soup on the Captain, or screaming bloody murder." Zoe says absent minded.

"I hope she does the soup thing. It's always a hoot and we don't all die from it."

"That poor kid…" Zoe says as she runs a hand over Wash's back.

Wash looks at a screen. "Yeah, she's definitely... got...funny." He says as he adjusts some things.

"Something wrong?" Zoe asks.

"I'm just getting a weird heat bounce off our wake."

"Engine flux?"

Wash shrugs it off. "Sensor probably got turned around. I'll climb up top when we hit land again."

XXX

River's POV

He's sitting on their bed when she descends the ladder to their bunk. In his hands is the shiv from earlier. She hears nothing but static from him.

"River what the fuck was that about earlier." Orpheus asks.

"Which part?" She asks. There is no sarcasm in her voice.

"All of it!" He barks at her.

She sighs and looks down at her hands. She feels like a little girl.

"River?" he says prodding her.

"She is unsure…everything feels…off. She catches glimpses…hears whispers…they try and crawl inside her mind…She's afraid she won't be able to stop them."

"Alliance?"

She shrugs. "Too early to tell…too many factors…too many outcomes…she cannot do the math, the possibilities would be endless."

XXX

…Elsewhere…

A door slides open underneath his ship and he glides out. He pushes a few keys as it shuts, then looking down, steadies himself a moment and then pushes off, floating down toward Serenity.

H reaches the top of Serenity a moment later, landing gently as possible. He walks, slowly and deliberately, pulling his feet up with the slight effort of disconnecting magnets. He walks to the window, and very slowly, looks in.

XXX

River's POV

The moment she feels the eyes watching her entire body locks up…She can feel the pain…the suffering he has inflicted…

…Reality Shifts…

She's sitting in bed in one of the passenger dorms on Serenity. She has the blankets around her…

**_…Oh here it comes now  
Got its eye on you..._**

She senses something and pulls the blankets up around her…If she was a fly it would feel like someone pulling off her wings…and it makes her shiver.

**_…I don't care if it takes all night  
'Cause there's bad blood  
Pumping in your veins  
It's alright..._**

Now she's in the upper hall...She sees his leg come down the from the upstairs hatch…his slow and careful steps…He doesn't want anyone to know he's here.

**_...I've seen the worst of it  
Turn into the moment  
You lost your way..._**

He's bad…both of them were…things of evil…their mother knew…saw darkness in them.

**_...Better run, better run  
When it's knock knock knockin'  
At your door…_**

…Reality Shifts Again…

"River!" Riddick screams at her.

She looks up at him. She's lying on the floor of their bunk and he's cradling her head and neck.

"You okay?" He asks as he helps her up.

"Suffering…evil…knock knock."

He looks confused. "What the hell does that mean River?"

"Bad blood." The girl says ominously.

XXX

The exterior hatch in the foredeck hall opens, he steps in quietly. he reaches the bottom and looks around before he pulls off his helmet., and then pulls out his gun.

He looks around the hall. No one around. He holsters his gun, moves back to the hatch, puts his helmet in there and seals it shut.

But when he comes back into the hall he bumps into Mal.

Mal is completely taken by surprise and the man reacts quickly by hitting Mal in the throat to keep him from screaming. He gets in close and punches a nerve cluster in Mal's back, and Mal tries to push him off and swing, but connects only glancingly. The man slams his foot into Mal's face, slamming the back of Mal's head into the ladder behind him. Mal starts to drop, but the man shoots forward and grabs him by the shirt to keep him from falling.

The man lowers Mal gently into the room, letting him drop the last of the way, unconscious. He closes the door from above.

He goes to the com and begins a sequence that will lock all the rooms from the outside.

XXX

Riddick's POV

"What do you mean bad blood River?"

As I say this I hear the click of the hatch signaling its been locked.

"He's here." River says.

"Who? Whose here River?"

"Evil."

XXX

…Serenity's Engine Room…

Kaylee is lying on her back, working under the engine. She yawns, goes back to work, but she hears something close by. She sits up, looks out into the dark of the hall, a little unnerved. It's dark in here, most of the light comes from the lamp she's working by, and the hall itself is pitch black.

"Hello…?" She asks to the air as she stands and looks. She sees nothing though.

She turns back to the toolbox, squats down to toss in a part, and as she comes back up she sees a man she has never seen standing inches from her. She gasps, stumbles back. She's up against the wall here.

"I like this ship." He says with a purr in his voice.

Kaylee says nothing and looks frantically around.

"Serenity. She's good-looking. I mean she looks good." The man adds as he looks around.

Kaylee is confused now. "How did you get on…?"

"It strains the mind a bit, don't it? You think you're all alone... Maybe I come down the chimney, Kaylee, bring presents to the good girls and boys. Maybe not, though." He comes closer to her and she shrinks closer to the wall.

"Maybe I've always been here." He continues.

"What do you want?" Kaylee asks timidly.

He looks at the turning engine, mesmerized. "That's her beating heart, isn't it? You pull off any one of a thousand parts, she'll just die. Such a slender thread…"

He doesn't look at her when he asks his next question. "Have you ever been raped?"

Kaylee holds her breath and begins to feel scared. "The captain's right by…" She starts to say.

He cuts her off though. "The captain's locked in his quarters. They all are. There's nobody can  
help you."

Kaylee's voice dies in her throat now. She has never felt fear like this.

"I'm gonna tie you up now. And you know what I'm gonna do then?"

She shakes her head no.

He continues. "I'm gonna give you a present. Get rid of a problem you've got. And I won't touch you in any wrong fashion, nor hurt you at all, unless you make some kind of ruckus. You throw a monkey wrench into my dealings in any way, your body is forfeit. Ain't nothing but a body to me, and I can find all unseemly manner of use for it. Do you understand?"

XXX

Riddick's POV

"What the fuck!" I say as I try in vain to open the hatch.

River sits at the com and tries to re-program the locks from the inside.

"Anything?" I ask her over my shoulder.

"Negative. he's infected the system with a virus that would need to be contained from the outside before the locks would be functional."

"Gorramit!" I say as I punch the hatch in frustration.

"She could do it."

"How the hell are you going to do that if we can't get out River?"

"Use the ventilation system. She is just small enough to squeeze through."

"You sure?'

"54 percent."

"Ain't a hell of a lot to go on."

She rolls her eyes and gives me her usual glare. "Well if wishes were horses we would all be eating steak."

She can tell I'm not amused by her snarky comment.

"It's all we have." She says.

XXX

River's POV

The girl rolls her eyes. He can be such a boob to doubt the girl at times like these. She moves over to the ventilation cover over the bed and begins to unscrew the fastenings with a shiv.

"How long is it going to take you to contain the virus?" He asks.

"By her calculations it will take anywhere from twenty to fifty minutes."

The covering comes off and she throws it to the side.

"Lot can happen in a time frame like that."

"She is aware." She says as she begins to hoist herself into the vent.

XXX

…Outside the passenger dorms...

Book exits the bathroom, in his sleepwear, towel over his shoulder, kit in hand. It's dark here as well, though there are safety lights enough to keep one from bumping into things. Book heads for his room, hears something at the top of the stairs. Turns back that way, and looks up. He only sees complete blackness.

"Hello?" He says cautiously.

He hears nothing and turns to go…but then hears another sound. He starts up the stairs, merely curious.

Just as he reaches the second step a man slides down the handrails on both hands, shooting down at Book with both feet out. Book is caught by surprise and the man catches him in the face and send him flying back.

XXX

River's POV

She hears the thud above her. She winces as she feels Simon's mind begin to stir from the sound. She moves as fast as she can without making much noise through the ventilation shaft towards the cargo bay.

XXX

…Just above…

Simon comes into the hall that Book was in a moment earlier. It is empty now and Simon is a little puzzled as to the noise he heard. Before he can retreat back into his room though, he feels something punch on him like a spider. Simon crumples to the floor in pain. Then he's yanked up and sees a gun pointed at his face.

"Doctor Tam, why don't you sit yourself down?" The man with the gun says.

Simon is unfazed though. "Rather die standing."

"The intention is not for you to die. The warrant doesn't specify any particular need for you to be alive, but…" He motions for Simon to sit on the steps.

Simon hesitates but complies with the demand.

"Where's your sister?" The man asks.

"Are you Alliance?" Simon asks cautiously.

The man looks confused. "Am I a lion?"

"What?"

"I don't think of myself as a lion….You may as well, though: I have a mighty roar."

"I said "Alliance"." Simon says.

The man looks even more confused now. "Oh. I thought…"

"No, I was…"

"That's weird."

"Where's your sister?"

"I don't know. Who do you work for?"

"The plan is to take your sister, get the reward, which is substantial."

"So you're a bounty hunter."

"That ain't it at all."

"Then what are you?"

"I'm a bounty hunter." The man says rather proudly.

Now Simon is annoyed at the man's nonsensical attitude. "That's what I said."

"Yeah, but you didn't say it well. I'm named Early. I'm known to some…probably not your set, though."

"This is insane. I'm not gonna help you find her in any case."

Early holds up his gun now…not directly pointing it at Simon, just kind of observing it. "I think this is very pretty. I like the weight of it."

"I thought the intention was not to kill me."

"You're missing the point. The design. Of the thing. It's functional. The plan is not to shoot you, the plan is to get the girl. If there's no girl, then the plan...You are gonna help me look for her."

"I don't think my last act in this 'verse is gonna be betraying my sister."

"You're gonna help me because every second you're with me is a chance to turn the tables, get the better of me, and it's the only chance your sister has. Maybe you'll find your moment. Maybe I'll slip. Or you'll refuse to help me, I'll shoot your brain out, and then I'll go upstairs and spend some time violating the little mechanic I got trussed up in the engine room. I take no pleasure in the thought but she will die weeping if you cross me."

Simon's eyes flare with concern when Early brings up Kaylee. "You're out of your mind."

Early shrugs his shoulders. "That's between me and my mind. Let's start with these rooms."

XXX

River's POV

She slowly creeps out of the ventilation shaft and into the darkened cargo bay. She moves like a cat thru the shadows to reach one of the electrical panels. She opens it up and begins entering various sequences to try and contain the virus. After a minute or two though she realizes her efforts are in vain.

_"liu kuoshui de biaozi he houzi de ben erzi."_ She curses under her breath.

The girl realizes that there is only one way to be able to contain the virus...She creeps over to the storage lockers….She just hopes Orpheus will not be terribly upset with her for deviating from the plan.

XXX

…Back in the passenger dorms…

Simon and Early open one of the passenger dorms and come upon an unconscious Book slumped against the wall. Simon crouches down and begins checking to see he's if alive.

"He's not killed. Be a while before he comes to, but he'll mend." Early says as he grabs Simon's arm to move him away.

"And which part of your plan dictated the necessity of beating up a Shepherd?' Simon asks incredulously.

"That ain't a Shepherd." Early replies.

Simon looks at Early, unsure if this is just more of his off- centerness. Early is looking down the hall.

XXX

AN: It took me awhile to figure out exactly how Riddick would fit into this episode, because let's face it he would easily beat Early's ass. But I have a good plan in store so I hope you all like where I am going with this. Till next time ;)


	45. Stuck in the Middle With You

AN: I have to say the words are just pouring out of me now...and just when I was about finished with this chapter, another plot bunny came up and bit me...so I had to add more... I don't think you guys will mind that though. Thank you to Guin, Irishbrneyes, Ravhet, BooklvrAnnie, and Shenandoah76209 for the recent reviews. I think some of you will be especially happy with this chapter; especially if you like Tarantino films ;) I don't own any of these wonderful characters, I'm just borrowing them, so please don't sue me. Anyways, on with the show...

Chapter 44: Stuck in the Middle With You

XXX

The infirmary doors open. Simon steps in, with Early right behind him, his gun still held on the doctor.

"She wouldn't come in here anyway. She hates this room. You see, Early, the people you're planning to sell her to cut up her brain in a lab like this. Tortured her. Teen-age girl. Not some bandit on a murder run, just an innocent girl…"

Early interrupts before Simon can continue though. "You ever been shot?"

Simon blinks as if he's waking up out of a stuppor. "No." He says slowly.

Early looks a little disappointed. "You oughta be shot, or stabbed, lose a leg... to be a surgeon. You know? Know the kind of pain you're dealing with."

However, what seemed like a threat becomes more like a distant observation...not that Simon is particularly comforted by this.

"They make Psychiatrists get psychoanalyzed before they can get certified, but they don't make surgeons get cut on. That seem right to you?" Early asks.

Simon has no answer.

XXX

River's POV

She slips the space suit on as fast as she can…She can feel their minds approaching…she has to be quick. She skips quietly over to the inner doors for the cargo bay and put on her helmet as she initiates the sequence to unlock the outer hull doors. She feels their foot steps getting closer and predicts there is a 20 percent chance of being caught. It makes her pulse race.

XXX

Simon and Early the darkened cargo bay. Early pulls out a small, powerful flashlight, shines it about. The locker with the spacesuits is near him, and the door is ajar. He moves to it…swings it open, gun at the ready. But i't's empty…except for a couple of spacesuits.

Early steps into the middle of the room, looks about at it.

"Come on out, River, the nice man wants to kidnap you…" Simon says with sarcasm.

Early glares at him. "Shhh."

He looks at the walls, holds his arms out, moving them up parallel to the slanted walls. "I like the way the walls go out. Gives you an open feeling. Firefly's a good design."

He turns back to Simon and motions with his gun for him to go upstairs.

"People don't appreciate the substance of things. Objects in space. People miss out on what's solid." Early remarks more to himself than Simon.

They reach the landing as he speaks, and he looks out over the room. Simon stands by him, unnoticed. He could just give a little shove...and Early's gun is in his face, Early not even looking at him.

"It's not your moment, Doctor."

Simon takes a step back.

Early points his light at Inara's shuttle. "Companion lives there?"

Simon answers. "Yes."

"We'll pay her a visit." Early says as they begin heading towards the shuttle.

XXX

River's POV

She exhales a breath she was holding as she feel her brother and the man moving away. She now turns and begins to use various pieces of exterior metal bits to climb towards the cancerous like vessel attached to Serenity.

XXX

They get halfway to Inara's shuttle before Early halts Simon.

"Hold it." Early stops by one of the catwalk's support beams…looks very closely at it. Sticks out his tongue and touches the end of it to the pole. Pulls back thoughtfully, as though he has learned something profound. Simon just looks disgusted and confused. Early motions for Simon to go on.

XXX

Riddick's POV

I'm pacing…I hate waiting…I hate feeling trapped…caged…my blood is beginning to boil…I imagine all of the things I am going to do to this fucker the moment I get the chance….I'm itching to slice him…watch him to scream and beg for mercy…fucker won't be getting any mercy today.

"What the fuck is taking so long." I say to the air.

"_Plan changed." _River's voice coms over the com unit, which surprises the hell out of me.

"What the fuck are you doing girly, having fuckin tea with this guy?"

"_Your sarcasm is not appreciated right now Richard."_

_"_Well you're lagging little girl!"

_"tzau ni daye!"_

"Just get the gorram doors open River!"

XXX

…Elsewhere...

Inara is sitting up in bed. Simon stands near the entrance of the room, looking tense. Inara, vulnerable and more than a little confused, looks from him to Early, who is peeking in the back room, gun trained steadily on Inara.

"This is pointless, you know that." Inara spits out.

"Two hundred thousand seems fairly pointed to me. Money like that, I could retire, not that I would. What's life without work?" Early remarks.

"Serenity is a smuggling ship. I've been here a year, I couldn't name all the places she might hide." Inara says in a haughty tone.

"I don't have a year."

Early now turns to Simon. "Your sister's becoming a real annoyance."

Simon is more than a little happy about this though. "I feel for you."

Early heads to the exit, herding Simon ahead of him, talking to Inara. "I'm not gonna waste my time threatening you, because I think you believe that I will kill people if someone upsets my plan. I'm gonna seal you in, though. You just sit."

"You can still walk away from this." Inara says a little hastily now. She's getting concerned now. "I know you're tired…"

Early violently pistol-whips her before she can continue. He goes back to pointing the gun back at Simon as she feels the blood on her lip.

"Don't go visiting in my intentions…Don't ever." He says with anger dripping from his voice.

He moves to the entrance. Before he shuts the door: "Man is stronger by far than woman. But only woman can create a child. That seem right to you?"

Her eyes widen as maternal fear sets in and he shuts the door on her.

XXX

River's POV

She slams her fists in frustration into the panel in front of her. He had to make it fuckin' difficult…he was quite a man…this Jubel Early…she would need someone to simultaneously run the containment sequence on Serenity while she was on his ship to complete get rid of the virus. She starts running the variables…and only one option yields optimal results.

XXX

…Serenity's Bridge...

Simon comes up the stairs from the front of the bridge while Early stands at the very front, looking down into the space, gun trained on Simon. He steps over to the middle with Simon, his manner tenser and the gun held with both hands at arms length.

Early yells out. "All right! That's all the hide and seek I got time for!"

XXX

Mal stirs in his bunk, the voice barely reaching him through the metal but its enough to bring him back to his senses.

XXX

Zoe also stirs in her bunk. Wash a moment after her.

XXX

Jayne is sleeping right through it. Too drunk from the inter-engine wine at dinner to really hear anything.

XXX

Riddick slams his hand into the wall when he hears the man's voice.

XXX

…Back on Serenity's Bridge…

"Now I know you're on this ship, little girl, so here's how this goes!"

He points the gun at Simon's temple. "You show yourself, and we finish this exchange, or your brother's brains'll be flying every which way."

He turns to Simon now. "You understand, I'm sort of on a clock here, it's frustrating…"

But River's voice interrupts him. "You're wrong, Early."

Early looks around, what the fuck…but realizes she's just coming over the com. He speaks in a more normal voice, knowing she can hear him. "I'm not wrong, dumpling. I will  
shoot your brother dead if you don't…"

"Wrong about River. River's not on the ship. They didn't want her here, but she couldn't make herself leave, so she melted. Melted away."

XXX

Mal looks more than a little confused. "What the hell is she plain' at?"

River's voice interrupts his thoughts though. "They didn't know she could do that...but she did."

XXX

"Not sure I take your meaning there…" Early says.

Simon and Early exchanging glances.

River continues. "I'm not on the ship. I'm in the ship."

Simon looks almost as perturbed as Early now.

"I am the ship."

Simon rolls his eyes. "River…"

She interrupts him. "River's gone."

Early yells now. "Then who the fuck exactly are we talking to?"

"You're talking to Serenity. And Early... Serenity is very unhappy."

Early looks over at Simon, a bit nervous. Simon just shrugs.

XXX

…Back in the Engine room…

Kaylee is sitting in the corner, hands tied behind her back, legs tied together. She hasn't moved since Early left her, she's so scared.

After a moment River's voice can be heard.

"Kaylee?" The voice is quieter, more intimate - this is not being broadcast for the public. "Kaylee, can you hear me?"

"River…?" Kaylee asks the air.

"You're afraid." River says.

Kaylee is near tears now. "He tied me up... I don't know where he came from, he just…"

River tries to comfort her friend. "It's okay. Gonna be okay."

Kaylee sniffles. "Is he gone?" River doesn't answer her and she begins to panic. "Is he coming back?"

"He's not gonna hurt you, Kaylee; He's only visiting."

"I didn't know what…" Kaylee begins to cry.

"Sshhhh... I'm fine. Only I need you to do something for me. Gotta be brave."

Kaylee looks frantic now. "I'm tied up, I can't…"

River interrupts. "Got tools. something sharp. Don't be scared. I'm right here."

XXX

…Serenity's Bridge...

Early and Simon are very still. After a moment Early speaks. "Where'd she go?"

"I can't keep track of her when she's NOT incorporeally possessing a spaceship, don't look at me." Simon remarks sharply.

"That's some nonsensical crap! Ain't nobody can do that." Early says waving his gun around.

He yells to the air now. "You're somewhere on this boat! Somewhere with a com, playing games."

River's laughter filters over the com. It's somewhat unsettling.

Early looks spooked. "That's somewhat unsettling."

XXX

River's POV

"Listen to me carefully Kaylee… She needs you to be strong…to be brave…When you are free, she needs you to go to the secondary electrical panel in the cargo bay…This man infected Serenity with a virus that is overriding the locking mechanisms. We need to contain the virus."

"I dunno River…I…"

She tries to reassure her friend again. "Shhh, it's going to be alright Kaylee…you can do this…she…I…know you can do this."

XXX

…Serenity's Bridge…

"Early, Mister Jubel Early, bounty hunter... can I call you Jubel?" River's voice asks.

Early is clearly getting more and more freaked out. "How'd she know that? Ain't nobody calls me that."

"Your mother does. I'm sorry. Did. She's gone now." River says with an acidic tone.

"That supposed to scare me? Bringing up my mother?" Early taunts.

"You're a liar. I don't think your intentions are honorable."

"Well, no, I'm a bounty hunter, it's not generally considered honorable so much as... I live by a code, though, which I think is worth…"

"You hurt people!"

"Only when the job requires it!" Early retorts.

"WRONG. You're a bad liar. You crawl inside me uninvited and you hurt my crew, I see everything that passes…"

"I only hurt people 'cause they keep getting in the way of finding you!" He turns to Simon now. "Tell her!"

Simon looks at him in disbelief. "What am I, your advocate?"

Early thrusts the gun at him. "You are starting now."

"He's really very gentle and fuzzy, we're becoming fast friends." Simon says with annoyance.

River giggles again.

"You folk are all insane!" Early remarks.

"Well, my sister's a ship, we had a complicated childhood." Simon says as he crosses his arms.

"Does anybody care that I have a finely crafted gun pointed at this boy's head?"

River answers him softly. "I care."

"Then are you gonna come out, stop me from doing what I don't want to? You gonna be smart here, River?"

But she doesn't answer him.

"River…Serenity?"

XXX

Riddick's POV

"What the fuck are you playing at River." I ask. She doesn't respond right away.

"_Kaylee is almost free…once she engages the secondary panel I can contain the virus from his ship." _

"What the FUCK are you talking about his ship!" I practically roar at her.

I can practically see the eye roll she is probably giving me right now.

"_Plans changed…only way."_

"Just get your fuckin' ass in gear and get me the fuck out of this room."

XXX

…In Mal's Bunk…

Mal's shaking off the beating he took, pulling himself up. He looks around a little groggy.

"What in the hell is going on here?"

_"It will all be over soon Captain Daddy."_ River's voice says.

"There was a guy, he was very blurry. You gotta be careful... how come there's a guy on board and how come you're all of a sudden the ship?"

_"I know you have questions…"_

"Yeah, that would be why I just asked them…"

_"But there isn't a lot of time. Captain, I need you to trust me."_

"Am I dreaming?" Mal says as he shakes his head.

_"We all are."_

The captain rolls his eyes.

_"Don't make faces."_

XXX

…Meanwhile in the engine room...

Kaylee has cut her hands free, and is finishing cutting her feet free. Tentatively, she stands.

_"Are you ready?" _River asks.

"You sure about this Riv?" Kaylee asks.

"_Affirmative."_

The door opens slowly and Kaylee peers out, still very afraid. She takes a breath and then she starts down the hall, hugging the wall.

XXX

…Back on the bridge…

Early is getting a little more hyper. He moves to the computer screen, working it with one hand while keeping the gun loosely on Simon.

"Just gotta think here... These older models got locators at all?"

"Won't help…" Simon says absentmindedly.

Early turns and glares at Simon and then turns back to the screen. "You know, with the exception of one deadly and unpredictable midget this girl is the smallest cargo I have ever had to transport and yet by far the most troublesome. Does that seem right to you?"

"What'd he do?" Simon asks mildly curious.

"Who?"

"The midget."

"Arson...Little man loooved fire."

XXX

…Just down the hall…

Kaylee peeks out around the corner. She can just see a piece of Early. She ducks her head back, steadies herself, and then braves it. Kaylee bolts down toward the cargo bay.

XXX

…In Zoe and Wash's Bunk…

"I can take this guy out." Zoe says as she pulls on her boots.

_"He's faster than you. And he's wearing armor."_

"What about his face? Is his face wearing armor?" Wash says as he moves to grab one of Zoe's guns.

_"No touching guns. You just have to sit and be good."_

Wash looks at Zoe. "This is all very surreal. I hate surreal." He sits down and pouts like a child.

XXX

Riddick's POV

"Anytime now."

I'm standing underneath the hatch to the hallway, waiting.

_"It's soon now. Are you ready?"_

"Been ready…"

_"Go now!"_

XXX

…On the Bridge…

The lights go completely out in the bridge and the hall. On cue Riddick manages to get into the hall and around the corner before the lights flicker back on. Simon and Early both do not see him. Now Early's very freaked out.

_"You're not welcome here anymore, Early."_

"And you think I'm gonna leave here empty handed?" He yells back.

_"I know it._"

"Yeah, you know me real well."

_"Wish I didn't. You like to hurt folk."_

"It's part of the job."

_"It's why you TOOK the job. Not the chase, not the money... Power. Control. Pain. Your mother knew. Sadness in her when she waved goodbye, but she's relieved. Saw darkness in you…and your brother. You're both not well."_

"You'll be wanting to shut up now."

"Big golden retriever, sitting on the lawn. Never took to you. Smell on you, the neighbors pets, you did things to 'em... cleaned up after. Shined and polished. Everything in here gleams."

Just then realization dawns on Early. "Well I'll be a son of a whore. You're not in my gorram mind. You're on my gorram SHIP!"

XXX

River's POV

She's laughing uncontrollably now. His paranoia makes stomaching all the hurtful memories much more worth it.

"It's very interesting. All these buttons…" She says as she adjusts things.

XXX

…Back on the Bridge...

"Okay, we're not touching those, okay?" Early says frantically. He turns to Simon. "How the hell did she get on my ship?"

"At this point, I'm as lost as you." Simon says dismissively.

_"Can see everyone from here. Wave to mommy... Put the gun away."_

Early looks panicked, but doesn't put the gun away. "Okay, I'm putting it away…"

"No he's not." Simon says.

Early glares at Simon and then puts it away.

"I'm putting it away 'cause we're all reasonable people, don't want to be doing anything rash, fiddling with any dials."

_"You're not right, Early. You're not righteous. Got issues."_

"No! Or, yes, I could have that, you might have me figured out, that... good job, I'm not a hundred percent ...Are we gonna be reasonable?"

"Talk too much."

"I'm flawed in that way, I sometimes go on, it's been said…"

_"It's okay, Early. I'm going with you."_

Now both Early and Simon look equally surprised. Simon can barely believe his ears. "River, what are you…"

_"Don't belong. Dangerous. Like you…Can't be controlled. Can't be trusted. Everybody could just go on without me, not have to worry…People could be who they wanted to be, could be with the people they wanted... could live simple. No secrets."_

The realization of what she's saying truly hits Simon now. "No…" Simon whispers.

_"And I'll be fine. I'll be your bounty, Jubel Early. And then I'll just fade away."_

Early smiles. Heads for the door. "Well, finally something goes according to…"

Simon throws himself at him, they clatter to the ground, tussling…Early throws him off, pulls out his gun - and fires. Simon's eyes go wide. Early stands, looking at Simon, who's shot in the upper thigh. He holds his hand over the spilling wound, face blanching.

"See? That's what it feels like." early says as he turns and takes off.

"You just hang tight, Darlin'...Early's on the move." As he heads down the hall.

Early comes to the hatch. that he entered through. he reaches for his helmet to put it on and leave.

"You made the right move, darlin'. Best for you to go with old Early." He says to himself as he begins to climb up the ladder.

"You think so? Some of us feel differently." A voice says behind Early.

Before early can turn around he is yanked backwards and Riddick starts to violently beat the man. Riddick cracks one of Early's ribs with one of the kicks he delivers to him. It's only when Riddick hears Mal screaming at him that he stops his violent onslaught.

"RIDDICK!" Mal screams.

He doesn't say anything, just turns and looks at Mal with a murderous look in his eyes.

"Chain him up in the cargo bay." Mal says.

But Riddick doesn't say anything, just kicks the unconscious man on the floor again and walks off. Jayne walks past him towards where Mal and the unconscious Early lay.

XXX

River's POV

She can feel his anger as she reaches the hatch. She rolls her eyes. He'll have his fun, he just needs to be more patient.

A few minutes later she is back into Serenity and taking the helmet off of her head. Mal stands there waiting for her.

She smirks. "Permission to come aboard?"

He looks at her affectionately. "You know, you ain't quite right."

"It's the popular theory."

"Get on in here. Give your brother a thrashing for messing up your plan."

"He takes so much looking after…"

XXX

…In the Infrimary...

Simon is on the table, talking Zoe through pulling out his bullet. He watches her progress on the screen...

"To the left - your left. Now, very gently, pull that aside…" Simon says as he is nearing exhaustion.

"This is really not my area of expertise, Doctor. I tend to be putting these into people more than the other thing." Zoe says. She is clearly stressing out and the sweat is showing on her face.

Wash stands at the ready to help. "Can I mop your brow? I'm at the ready with the fearsome brow mopping."

"You got the bullet. Okay, I'm gonna pass out for a minute, but you're doing great."

Mal and Inara stand at the entrance, watching.

"So we live to fight another day."

"Any chance that violent lunatic might survive what _they _do to him?"

"Ain't odds I'd play. How's your lip?"

He touches her face to look and she let him. They look at each other a moment before they both start to smile.

XXX

…In the Cargo Bay...

Riddick's POV

I walk into the darkened cargo bay. In the center sits one very groggy bounty hunter.

"Alone at last." I say as I approach him.

His mouth is taped and he looks towards me. One of his eye's is swollen to the point where its barely open. I hear footsteps behind me and turn to see Jayne and River coming into the cargo bay.

"Didn't want to miss out Cobb?'

"Hell, I slept thru the first part, wasn't gonna let you have all the fun." Jayne says as he approaches me.

I merely smirk and turn back to the fucker tied up. "Now, where were we?"

XXX

River's POV

She takes a seat on one of the boxes in the cargo bay. She wants to watch as the man is ripped apart. Early really should have known better than to wake a sleeping beast.

Orpheus rips the tape of his mouth now. Jubel merely glares in defiance. "You can torture me all you want."

"Torture you, that's a good...that's a good idea. I like that one." Jayne chimes in.

"Try not to get too much blood everywhere, Captain will be angry." She says as she catches waves of murderous lust of both Riddick and Jayne.

Early just nervously laughs.

She feels storm clouds around Riddick darken now. "Nobody tells me what to do. You understand?" Riddick backhands Early across the face. "Hear what I said, you son of a bitch?"

Early spits blood at Riddick in defiance.

"Look at that fucking shit." Jayne says as he produces one of his knives and slams it into Early's thigh. "That was for the Doc." He says as he pulls the knife out. Early screams at the pain. She feels her lips turn into a smirk at that...never thought that the ape man would do something for her brother...but's he's becoming crew now in Jayne's mind and it makes her smile.

"Look Early, I can call you Early right?" Riddick waits for a reply but doesn't get anything.

"I'm not going to bullshit you, OK? I'm going to torture you... regardless of what you do. It's amusing to me to torture a sick fuck like you. You can do anything you want 'cause I've seen it all before. All you can do is pray for a quick death... which... you ain't going to get."

She can see where this is going…it's going to be a great show.

Riddick produces a gun now and tracks Early with it. Early tries moving head out of way, but can't move far, as he's tied to chair. Riddick laughs and puts the gun away.

"You ever listen to Stealers Wheel from Earth-that-was? It's one of my personal favorites."

Riddick goes over to the portable cortex the girl brought with her and plays with it to find the right song.

"Joe Egan and Gerry Rafferty were a duo known as Stealer's Wheel when they recorded this Dylanesque, pop, bubble-gum favorite from 1974. That reached up to number five." The girl chimes in. It earns her a weird look from Jayne but she merely shrugs.

The song comes on now and it reverberates against the metal hull of the cargo bay.

**_...Well I don't know why I came here tonight,  
I got the feeling that something ain't right,  
I'm so scared in case I fall off my chair,  
And I'm wondering how I'll get down the stairs..._**

Riddick starts singing along now. "**Clowns to the left of me, Jokers to the right, here I am, Stuck in the middle with you**." He pulls out one of his razor blades now…kind of dancing and tapping his feet along with the beat...it's a slightly terrifying sight to see.

**_...Yes I'm stuck in the middle with you,  
And I'm wondering what it is I should do,  
It's so hard to keep this smile from my face,  
Losing control, yeah, I'm all over the place…._**

Riddick slashes at Early's face now. Early groans in pain.

"What's the matter Early? I thought you liked pain? Girl told us all about what you liked to do to people." Riddick asks as he cuts his face and arms a few more times before walking back towards where Jayne stands and hands him the razor blade.

"Cobb you want that ear?" Riddick asks a very excited Jayne.

**_...Well you started out with nothing,  
And you're proud that you're a self made man,  
And your friends, they all come crawlin,  
Slap you on the back and say,  
Please... Please..._**

She feels the glee roll of Jayne as he takes the razor blade from Riddick. "Hold still!" He says as he walks up to early and grabs his ear.

**_...Cause I don't think that I can take anymore  
Clowns to the left of me, Jokers to the right,  
Here I am, stuck in the middle with you..._**

_"_Hold still, you fuck!" Jayne says as Early screams as his ear is hacked off.

Early is still screaming as Jayne walks away. The music drowns his screams somewhat though.

"That as good for you as it was for me?" Jayne says as he talks into sliced-off ear.

"Don't go anywhere Early… I'll be right back." Riddick says as goes to the storage locker.

She smiles a devilish smile...she can see all the pretty fireworks in her mind now.

Riddick pulls out a gas can, and then walks back towards Early. Early for his part looks utterly horrified as realization spreads across his face. Riddick starts throwing gas on Early.

_"_Aah! Aah! Aah! Don't! Stop! Stop! Stop. Don't!" Early screams! Any resolve he had to be quiet is broken when the gasoline hits his skin.

**_...Well I don't know why I came here tonight,  
I got the feeling that something ain't right,  
I'm so scared in case I fall off my chair,  
And I'm wondering how I'll get down the stairs..._**

**"**What? What's the matter?" Riddick asks.

**"**Don't do this! Please!"

**"**That burn a little bit?"

"Stop! Please. Stop. Just stop. Stop...Just talk to me. Please, don't. Please, don't- don't burn me, please!"

"You all through? You all through?" Riddick just waits patiently.

**"**Please, look, please!"

**"**You all done?" Riddick says as he pulls out a lighter and flicks it open. The tiny flame dancing around in his hand.

"Don't. Don't!"

**"**Have some fuckin' fire, scarecrow." And with that he throws the lighter on Jubel Early and watches as the man catches on flames.

**_...Clowns to the left of me,  
Jokers to the right, here I am,  
Stuck in the middle with you,  
Yes I'm stuck in the middle with you,  
Stuck in the middle with you..._**

The girl is happy to see the demise of him. "Goodbye...Mr. Jubel Early." She says to no one but herself.

XXX

AN: So everyone happy? I was originally going to do something completely different with the end of this chapter, but the Mr. Blonde in Reservoir Dogs...the ear thing...the fire...it just screamed of Riddick and Jayne. So I had to make it the demise of Jubel Early. Also, I'm curious to know if you guys picked up on a hint I dropped ;)


	46. Dreams, Nightmares, Ruled By Secrecy

AN: To my loyal readers and reviewers (BooklvrAnnie, Irishbrneyes, Guin, Shenandoah76209) you guys are amazing =) it always makes me extremely happy to see how many people read and follow this story. Anyways, enough gushing about how amazing you all are, and on with the next chapter!

Chapter 45: Dreams, Nightmares, Ruled By Secrecy

XXX

It takes Jubel Early exactly eight point three minutes to succumb from the fire and burns to his body. It took Mal nine and three quarter minutes to come to the cargo bay because of the smell of burning flesh.

"What the hell are ya'll doin'?" Mal says as he comes down the stairs.

"Having a bonfire." River replies with a hint of snarky attitude.

"Why the hell would you do that while we are in the middle of space? You all have a death wish or something?"

"Relax Mal….weren't gonna let it get out of control." Jayne says as he twirls the ear he cut off.

"Why in Buddha's name do you have an ear Jayne?…You know what..I don't even want to know…Something ain't right with you three."

"She'll take that as a compliment."

Mal doesn't even know what to say to River after that.

"Just clean this shit up." He says as he walks out of the cargo bay.

"He just spoils all the fun don't he?" Riddick asks after Mal has left.

XXX

River's POV

She isn't in her dreams tonight...she had tried to sleep...tried to listen to the rhythmic beating of Riddick's heart to lull her off to never never land...but it is no use...the goblins won't let her sleep...Every time she tries she just hears their static and chatter...

She gave up trying to decipher the bits and pieces she can pick up after the first hour... now she just roams Serenity's halls...quietly listening to the music from everyone else's dreams...

Riddick is all daggers and knives...like a whirling dervish he relives his fights over and over again...one showdown after the next...

Despite his best efforts... Book dreams of his past...**_Born under a bad sign...I been down since I begin to crawl... _**She wishes she could comfort him about his past...but he wouldn't want to be reminded when he is awake as well...**_ If it wasn't for bad luck, I wouldn't have no luck at all..._**

She always smiles at Zoe and Wash's dreams...**_The way that you hold me... Whenever you hold me...There's some kind of magic that's inside you..._**their dreams are always perfectly in sync...

She smiles at little Kaylee's dreams...**_Come away with me and we'll kiss...On a mountaintop..._**and then shakes her head...oh if only Simon wasn't such a boob...

...Another song drifts in...**_I met a gin soaked, bar-room queen in memphis...She tried to take me upstairs for a ride..._**oh Jayne...you will never tire of the painted ladies...

...Inara and Mal...both in sync yet separate...**_Please don't make me wait again..._**each broken bits of the same song...**_Say its me that you adore, And then darling tell me when..._**

Simon...poor Simon...he's fallen so hard for the sunshine...**_Just a kiss good-night... _**if only he could see**_...Maybe you and I will fall in love_**...what's right in front of him...

She doesn't know when she starts to succumb...but eventually she finds herself curled up in one of Serenity's many hiding spots...all of their music swirling around her before it is replaced with her own...music...and nightmares...

XXX

...Reality Shifts...

She's standing on the bridge of Serenity...no one else is there...she can see the battle in front of her though...hundreds of ships...thousands of screams echo in her head...

**_...Repress and restrain  
Steal the pressure and the pain..._**

They fall...fast...like a leaf on the wind they twirl and twist...she feels the pressure drop...feels the jolt as they skid...she can hear their voices...but she can't see them...they are just shadowy figures...

**_...Wash the blood off your hands  
This time she won't understand..._**

There is a moment of silence...a moment of stillness...and then she feels it hit her like sledge hammer...she looks down to see the blood pooling on her abdomen...it gushes...and she feels life slowly start to drain...she screams...

**_...You're working so hard  
And you're never in charge..._**

When she opens her eyes she's running down a corridor...her only thought is that she has to make it..."my turn"...

**_...Your death creates success  
Rebuild and suppress..._**

She feels hands grab her...pull her back...feels nails dig into her skin...clawing... scratching...every inch of her is consumed by anger...by fire...by hatred...

**_...Change in the air  
And they'll hide everywhere  
And no one knows who's in control... _**

...Reality Shifts Again...

She wakes up startled...almost a little confused as to where she is. Her brow is damp with cold sweat...She pushes herself up. She hugs her knees into her chest and feels the tears drip down her cheek...because in this moment the girl hates herself...because she can almost see what's coming...but can't see what will change it...

XXX

…The next day on Serenity's Bridge…

River's POV

She was trying to avoid the crew this morning...they knew it too. By the time she had crawled out of her hiding spot it was after breakfast. The look on the girl's face was more than enough to have people keep their distance...and for those who didn't...mainly Simon...she just shot a look that screamed I don't want to talk about it. Riddick yelled at him to give her some space...she frowns a little though, because she knows that Orpheus will ask her about it later...

A little while later she had retreated to the bridge to watch Wash pilot Serenity...she always found peace in watching him fly. Mr. Universe had sent the details of the job to their account not long after. It was a simple pick-up and drop…but she got rather excited when she pulled a few undisclosed facts from the weird man's recorded message. She keeps them to herself though…wouldn't want to spoil the surprise for everyone else.

She sits twirling her hair around her fingertips, her feet propped up on instrument panel in front of her as Wash sets them down on one of the border moons.

Wash coughs lightly in the seat across from her. She knows he wants to ask about what the Captain was hollering about last night, but he's somewhat afraid to.

"Mal just doesn't share our sense of humor." She says plucking at his thoughts.

While it once unnerved Wash to have her do that, he's gotten used to it and is no longer bothered by it. "And by our I assume you mean Riddick and you?"

"Jayne too."

"Okay now I really don't want to know."

XXX

…Planetside…

River's POV

Mal and the girl are standing near an open clearing when another ship sets down in it. Plan was to have the first ship land a few clicks over from Serenity and then carry the loot over. They were the greeting party.

A few minutes after the ship sets down a ladder and an elevator panel begin to descend from underneath the ship. She can barely contain her excitement now.

"Somethin' I should know you ain't sharin bit?"

"Excitement…old friend."

"Who in Buddha's name do you know on this ship?" Mal asks.

A very large man steps off the ladder that goes up to the belly of the ship, he turns and beams at Mal and is more than a little surprised to see River.

"Well I'll be a …MONTY!" Mal yells and starts walking up to his old friend.

"You old son-of-a- Com'ere!" Monty says as he practically picks Mal up in a bear hug. The girl smiles seeing the old friends salutations.

"How-you-do-in'" Mal wheezes out before Monty releases him.

"They didn't tell me you were picking up this leg of the run!" Monty says with mirth and merriment on his face.

"It was a last minute thing…friend of ours set us up for it…oh speaking of which I have someone…"

"Oh hell I know this little one…come give ol' Monty a hug darlin." Monty says as he moves past Mal to the girl and envelopes her in a big hug as well. She likes feeling the sunshine his mind exudes at seeing the girl.

"Where is that ugly mug I last seen you with?" Monty asks the girl as he sets her down.

Mal is beyond confused. "Did I miss something' here?"

"He's on Serenity." She says with a smile.

"You two know each other?'

"You got Riddick on board too Mal?" Monty says as he turns back to Mal.

"Okay…I'm lost…how do you all know each other?'

"Long story Captain…we will retell it to you once we are all reunited." The girl says to quell his confusion.

"Where's that sorry-ass ship a' yours anyways?" Monty asks.

"Monty, two boats like ours meeting on an empty rock like this, that screams contraband to the Feds. Or have you forgotten that time you got pinched on Beylix?"

"Always thinkin', ain't ya. Smarts. That's what you got. Smarts." Monty says as he smacks Mal's arm.

Mal shrugs. "Now, OK, wait….Something's different. Something is…"

Monty smiles proudly…starts stroking his chin. The girl merely rolls her eyes that it takes him so long to see what's missing.

Mal finally notices and his eyes look to be about ten sizes bigger. The girl giggles. "The beard! Oh! You shaved off your soup-catcher!"

"Yup." Monty beams.

"Well, I thought you were gonna wear that ugly chin-wig to the grave…"

"Yeah, so did I. But she didn't much like my whiskers…"

The girl is completely caught off guard. "She?…"

"HEY BUTTERCUP!" Monty yells.

"What the hell am I thinking? I got to introduce Mal to the missus! And she has been missing you something fierce darlin'"

"Monty! You have fallen from our noble bachelor ranks?"

"I wasn't lookin' to, but she just sorta swept me off my feet."

She is puzzled at first but when she feels familiar thoughts she turns around. The girl feels the corners of her mouth turn up into a beaming smile as a woman she knows all to well descends the ladder now. She squeals and runs to her and gives her a hug that practically matches Monty's.

"Shazza!" The girl practically yells as she tackles the woman with a hug.

XXX

…Back on Serenity…

Mal and the crew had been more than a little startled to learn that Riddick and Monty fought together in the war…especially since Mal had known Monty from his days on Shadow. There were drinks all around to celebrate the happy reunion of old friends and Monty and Shazza's marriage.

Everyone had received quite the shock hearing the full story of how Riddick and River knew Shazza, and how Shazza and Monty met…but everyone was absolutely thrilled with how things had worked out, especially River.

XXX

River's POV

They were all seated around a campfire just off Serenity's cargo bay ramp. Both crews mingled about, laughing with each other easily, and just enjoying the warm night.

The girl could hear various bits of all of the conversations as she sat next to Riddick and very slowly nursed a glass of Kaylee's inter-engine wine. Riddick was refusing to let her have anymore after the last time she got herself drunk trying to out drink Jayne.

Mal and Inara are to her left talking with Shazza and Monty...it makes her smile to see her friend have happiness after everything she went through...she shudders as tiny memories float through her brain...

"You cold River?" Riddick asks as he feels her shiver.

"Negative...just remembering."

She can see his eyebrow arch in question, but she chooses to ignore it.

"Captain Daddy." She says as she gets up and moves towards Mal.

Inara just chuckles as Mal visibly tenses as she does..."Bit how many times..."

She cuts him off before he can finish..."Many more...she is curious...you have heard how Riddick, Shazza, Monty, and the girl all know each other...but we have yet to hear your stories."

"Ain't got any stories bit." He says as his temper cools.

"Oh of course you do Mal." Inara says as she lightly smacks his arm.

"Oh really? And which ones might those be?"

"Could always tell the one about when we met Jayne." Zoe says from across the fire with a small chuckle.

"That ain't anything anyone wants to hear!" Jayne protests.

"I agree lamby-toes, it is kinda funny." Wash seconds.

"Ah hell, why you got to go bringing that up again."

'"What's the matter Cobb? Embarrassed?" Riddick teases.

"It ain't somethin' I'm proud of is all, okay?" He says with a small pout.

"It was kinda funny Jayne." Mal says with a chuckle.

"Ah hell, fine..tell your damn story then."

"Alright then...It was one of the first jobs that we had on Serenity...we're given coordinates to drop off some cargo...we get the cargo stashed and head back to the ship to meet our contact and instead get greeted with guns in our faces...I tried to talk reason to them...they just kind of scoffed at this...and Jayne was one of them holdin' us up."

"Why does that not surprise me." Riddick says with a chuckle.

"He I said I ain't proud of this story...man can change."

"Anyways..." Mal says to continue. "I asked Zoe which one she thought tracked us...she said the ugly one...which wasn't much help...no offense Jayne."

"Just hurry this up." Jayne replies.

"Jayne threatens to shoot us...his boss, then tries to get us to give up the goods, so I point out that threatening to shoot us isn't much incentive...Anyway, we've hidden it. So, they could kill us, but they'd never find it."

"Could have shot you in the leg." River says. "Adequate threat."

"Enough interruptions!" Mal says to quiet her and keep anyone else from speaking up. "Well when I said that, Jayne kinda slips and gives himself away as the tracker...and I start thinking aloud...asking let's say you did kill us. Or didn't. There could be torture. Whatever. But somehow they found the goods. What would his cut be? He says seven percent, straight off the top, which I found to be quite hilarious because it made me think I was paying Zoe too much...and I said so too."

"Funny sir." Zoe pipes in.

"Well the main guy isn't gettin to happy with me talkin like this so I try and make amends, say look, forget I said anything. I'm sure you're treated very well. You get the perks. Got your own room...and Jayne looks more than a might irritated when I bring up the room..."

"Now the guy is getting more and more irritated tells; Jayne this ain't funny...and Jayne weren't laughin' mind you. And I get to makin' him an offer...He moves on over to this side, we'll not only show him where the stuff's at...we'll see to it he gets a fair share. Not no sad "seven."...I knew I had him hooked when he asked about a private room...so the main guy starts yelling at Jayne, and Jayne shoot him in the leg...tells him to shut up and then asks how big a room."

There is a round of chuckles and laughs from everyone around the campfire now. Jayne looks a little red in the face too.

Riddick chuckles. "Sounds like typical Cobb to me."

"Like I said, ain't nothin I'm proud of."

"Oh come on Jayne, weren't that bad...I mean we all have funny stories about how we ended up on Serenity." Kaylee says sympathetically.

"Oh really little Kaylee? How would you feel about how you ended up on Serenity?" Jayne says questioningly.

She blushes a little, but giggles. The girl likes it when she giggles, reminds her of happy music. "Like you said Jayne, people change...Take Wash for example."

"Me? When did I get pulled into this?" Wash says with amusement.

"Zoe told me about the first time you two met." Kaylee says.

"Did she now?' Wash says as he turns and looks at a smirking Zoe.

"Well it was rather amusing husband."

"Why's that?" The girl asks.

"The man had a huge mustache! Looked like a broom on his face." Mal answers.

Now this really gets some laughs around the campfire...including Wash.

"Really? Can't see it." Simon says between chuckles.

"Hey! I'll have you know that I was very fond of the mustache. Made me look a little diabolical."

Zoe chuckles. "More like a bum!"

Wash smirks as he tickles Zoe for her reply. "Well...doesn't matter now anyways...I traded it for something better." He leans over and kisses Zoe's cheek now.

"Here here to that!" Monty seconds as he leans over and kisses Shazza.

XXX

Eventually the two Captains had to call the party to an end though…there was a job to be done and no one wanted the attention of the Feds. So within a few hours the crew of Serenity had said goodbye to old friends with the promise to keep in touch.

XXX

...Elsewhere in the Verse...

"I am not amused by this." He says while drumming his fingers on the console in front of him.

"I'm sorry sir...we tried to figure out if it was a malfunction on our end...but it seems as if your brother's ship has been destroyed."

He arches an eyebrow. "What do you mean destroyed?'

The man on the other end of the wave shifts uncomfortably. "Well...we received read-outs about a malfunction and when we tried to bypass the error message..."

"I want the last read-outs from his ship uploaded to my account immediately, is that understood?'

"Right away sir...I'm sorry for your loss."

He disconnects the wave and immediately opens the files that were forwarded to him. He starts scanning them while entering in codes to pull up the last video feeds from inside the ship.

His eyes widen in a mixture of shock and anger when the video pulls up onto his screen...There sits little River Tam...entering in codes into the console. He reverse hacks the files to try and find out what she input into the system. The words self-destruct pull up onto his screen.

He sits there stunned for a moment before standing up and throwing everything on the desk in front of him to the floor and overturning the desk in a fit of rage.

XXX

...Back on Serenity...

Riddick's POV

I track her scent back through the ship. Girl is avoiding the conversation we are about to have and it's a bit irritating. I open the hatch to our bunk and drop in.

She's sitting on the bed, twirling a small shiv in her fingers, and doesn't bother to look up. She smells of lavender and gunpowder.

"River." I say as I walk towards her. She noticeably shivers, no doubt from knowing what I'm about to ask.

"You really going to make me ask?' I say as I stand in front of her.

"Goblins." She says in a small voice.

"Goblins? That really all you going to give me?"

She huffs. "It's the only way the girl can think to explain it."

"Yeah? That the reason why you seem to be sleepin' else where at night?"

She looks up at me now, there's a look of sadness in her eyes.

"She can't help it...they chase her from her dreams."

"What are they sayin?" I ask as I sit down next to her.

"She cannot say."

"Can't or won't?" I ask challenging her answer.

"Cannot...we must not look at goblin men, We must not buy their fruits: Who knows upon what soil they fed, Their hungry thirsty roots..." She says in a sing-song voice.

"You talkin' in riddles doesn't do anything to make me any less irritated."

"She is aware." She says solemnly as she slides her body down to where her head rests in my lap.

At some point I Start running my fingers through her hair. She seems to relax and melt into me even more.

"She likes when you touch her."

I chuckle. "Whats not to like."

XXX

...Elsewhere...

He stands in front of a large window looking out into the black abyss of space. He doesn't bother to turn around to address the young cadet that he is currently giving orders to.

"I want the subliminal embedded in everything playing on all rim planets...everything that can broadcast them needs to be utilized...I want the bounty increased again...and I want every contact that Serenity has ever had to be monitored...That's all."

"Yes sir." The cadet says as he walks out of the office.

He just continues to stand and stare into space, his eyes narrowed as if contemplating something.

"You will pay...little..girl."

XXX

AN: Wow, I ended up putting way more into this chapter than I originally thought I would. Obviously there is a lot of foreshadowing of upcoming events, which means we are getting very close to the next major plot shift in this fic.

Songs:

Riddick: Showdown by Brian Tyler (from War Soundtrack)

Book: Born Under a Bad Sign by Albert King

Zoe & Wash: Nobody Does it Better by Carly Simon

Kaylee: Come Away With Me by Norah Jones

Jayne: Honky Tonk Women by The Rolling Stones

Inara & Mal: Quando Quando Quando by Michael Buble and Nelly Furtado

Simon: Put Your Head on My Shoulder by Michael Buble

River: Ruled By Secrecy by Muse


	47. Scary Monsters

AN: Guin, BooklvrAnnie, Irishbrneyes, Shenandoah76209, hideher, and all those that follow my stories you all rock! I am seriously so flattered that you all continue to read and review. I wanted to let you all know that I am considering taking this story in several different directions. Ultimately, I want to include both Chronicles, the new Riddick movie coming out in September (squeals with excitement!), and maybe some of the comic books/video games into this fic. That being said, an option would be to have this be one very long fic, or to break it up. Do any of you have opinions on this? Anyways, on with the show!

Chapter 47: Scary Monsters

XXX

...Reality Shifts...

It isn't real...her school never looked like this...class was not outside...but there she sits...her ten year old self...listening to these people go on...

"Now that the war's over, our soldiers get to come home, yes?" One of the little girls in the group asks.

"Some of them. Some will be stationed on the rim planets as Peace Enforcers." The teacher replies.

A rather stuffy looking little boy chimes in now. "I don't understand. Why were the Independents even fighting us? Why wouldn't they look to be more civilized?"

"That's a good question. Does anybody want to open on that?" The teacher responds.

"I hear they're cannibals."

"That's only Reavers."

"Reavers aren't real."

"Full well they are. They attack settlers from space, they kill them and wear their skins and rape them for hours and hours..."

He's interrupted by the teacher now. "It's true that there are...dangers on the outer planets. So let's follow up on Borodin's question. With all the social and medical advancements we can bring to the Independents, why would they fight so hard against us?" She asks.

The girl rolls her eyes and speaks under her breath. "We meddle."

However, it's not quiet enough, and the entire group turns to face her.

"River?"

"People don't like to be meddled with. We tell them what to do, what to think, don't run don't walk we're in their homes and in their heads and we haven't the right. We're meddlesome."

The teacher kneels in front of her now and takes the stylus she didn't even know she was holding.

"River, we're not telling people what to think. We're just trying to show them how." And in one graceful motion she plunges the stylus into the girl's forehead.

...Reality Shifts Again...

River's POV

She wakes up from her dream with a jolt and she rapidly sits up. The scream that was on her lips dies in her throat, but she can feel Riddick stir next to her. She tries to calm her breathing...tries to slow down her pulse...

"Riv?" He asks as he wakes up.

She doesn't turn to look at him though, she can feel the tears forming in the corner of her eyes and she doesn't feel like letting him see.

"Nightmare." She replies as she moves to sit on the edge of the bed.

He sighs and sits up. "You think they are gonna stop anytime soon?" He asks without a hint of indication as to how he is feeling in his voice.

"She is unsure."

XXX

...On Serenity...

Jayne, Zoe, and Book are milling about in the common area...Book had made the morning meal and everyone was a bit happier when he did...he was by far the best cook on Serenity.

Mal and Inara walk in now and head for the coffee.

"Are you sure it wouldn't be an issue?" Inara says as she reaches for two cups.

"Not in the least 'Nara, will drop you off at House Madressa with your shuttle and pick you back up when we head out this way again in a day or two. It'll give you some time to settle your affairs and we'll see you soon enough." He says as he pours them both coffee.

She smiles at him and leaves a kiss on his lips. Mal chuckles a little and give her one in return. Ever since River's admissions at that shindig and the whole Yo-saff-bridge deal Mal and Inara had been working on...well starting something. Inara had made the decision to change from being a companion to a consultant for training houses, which was a move that Mal was more than happy about.

"You best go get your shuttle ready, we will be breaking atmo soon." He says as he takes a sip of coffee.

She takes her coffee with her and walks towards her shuttle.

"Hey Mal! What ever happened to that no-shipboard romances rule you had." Jayne says after Inara has left.

"Well my first mate married the pilot, I got a love-struck doc and mechanic, and the two scariest people in the verse shacking up on my boat. Seems like that rule went out a while ago." He says with a chuckle as he sits down with them.

Book breaks in now. "I have been meaning to..."

"I know preacher...special hell and all."

"Actually I was going to say it's about time you and Inara got together."

This illicit a laugh from everyone at the table and Jayne smacks Book on the back.

XXX

...A day later...

Riddick's POV

They had dropped off Inara at House Madrassa and were headed to drop off the good they had picked up from Monty. He was sitting on the bridge with Wash and Mal as they were bringing Serenity down to dock.

"Who's the contact again?" I ask.

"Twins by the name of Fanty and Mingo." Wash says as he begins the docking sequence.

"We know anything about them?"

"We worked with them a time or two. No need to worry Riddick, should be an easy drop."

"Yeah but what you plan and what happens are usually different." I say with a chuckle.

"Yeah, but I imagine bit will be able to suss anything out before it goes south. figured you and her could drop by the meet when Jayne and I go so we don't intimidate the twins."

I chuckle, man has finally learned.

XXX

...House Madrassa later that evening...

Inara looks out at the mountains. The space she's in resembles a Tibetan monastery, if slightly more opulent. Widen to see she is with a somewhat older Companion. She hands Inara a drink.

"The girls will be excited...all they can talk about is that you will be spending some time with them as an instructor."

"They're very sweet. But they're not Companions." Inara says before taking a sip of her tea.

The older woman smiles at her wryly now. "You've no hope for them? Junk the lot, start anew?"

"On Sihnon we started training at twelve. Years of discipline and preparation before the physical act of pleasure was even mentioned. Most of these girls..."

The older woman interjects. "They're all of good family, the highest academic standards..."

"Control. Was the first lesson. And the last and these worlds are not like the Central Planets. There is barbarism dressed up in the most civil weeds. Men of the highest rank who don't know the difference between a Companion and a common whore. It's unsafe."

"All the more reason the girls look to you. You came out here alone, before the Alliance ever thought to establish a House this remote. You've seen so much. You're a figure of great romance to them."

Inara chuckles. "Great romance has nothing to do with being a Companion.'

"I'm not the one who had a torrid affair with a pirate." The older woman says. Inara nearly spills her drink as she hears this.

"A who? With a what?" Inara asks trying to recover.

"It's the talk of the House. The girls all trade stories in the dorms at night."

"Captain Reynolds is no pirate; he's a petty thief. And he's never dishonored me in any way." She says defensively. She knew it would inevitably come out she was leaving to be with the Captain, but she didn't like the way he was being talked about right now.

"Don't worry my dear, the stories will fade. In the meantime, we received a wave that an Alliance official would be touring the House tomorrow, I would love it if you would talk with him.

Inara smiles. "I would be delighted."

XXX

...Beaumonde Docks the next day...

Serenity touches down on the crowded atoll amidst a number of other, equally disreputable ships. The place is filled with every kind of culture and shop imaginable. The ramp is open and everyone is filing out, ready to hit the town.

...River's POV...

Mal is walking down the cargo bay ramp and speaking to her over his shoulder.

"You two just pop in to check on the scene in awhile. Shouldn't be trouble but you never know."

"Aye aye Captain." She says with a mock salute that makes him laugh.

"Zoe, Wash, you both have the ship." He says as he and Jayne walk off into the crowd.

"You heard him husband." Zoe says as they retreat back onboard.

She turns and looks at Kaylee giving Simon puppy dog eyes. Simon just looks off into the crowd slightly fascinated, he's never spent much time off a core planet.

"_Ge-ge_." She says and he turns to look at her. "I'm sure Kaylee would like company as she gets supplies from local vendors."

Kaylee's smile immediately widens as she hears her friend say this. "Sure! I could show you around...then we can meet Riv and Riddick later." Kaylee says as she grabs her bag.

Simon looks flustered now as Kaylee links arms with him and begins to drag him into the crowd.

The girl hears a chuckle behind her now. "You sure that was a good idea?" Riddick says as he stands next to her.

"He likes her...he just needs a push...like most men." She says as she walks into the crowd herself.

She can feel him laughing in her mind as he moves to walk beside her.

XXX

...In Maidenhead Bar...

There are tons of CorVue screens, all showing different things, one is showing a news report. On the screen is a shot of the town our gang robbed, now half of it a smoking ruin. However what the people in the bar don't know is that each screen has a blinking light behind it. Every screen is a camera, even down here.

Mal and Jayne enter the bar, both talking idly as they check their guns in the lockers near the door. They each get a small key once the guns are placed in.

"So I been thinkin..." Jayne starts.

"Which is never good." Mal chuckles lightly.

Two men seem to approach from the side and butt into their conversation. It' s Fanty and Mingo.

"Domestic troubles?" The first asks.

"Domestic troubles?" The second echos.

"Cause we don't wanna interrupt."

"A man should keep his house in order."

Mal turns away from Jayne now and greets them each. "Mingo. Fanty."

The first points at the other. "He's Mingo."

Mal doesn't waiver though. "He's Fanty. You're Mingo."

The first one, Mingo, is a little perturbed now. "Ghahh! How is it you always know?"

"Fanty's prettier." Mal says with a cocky grin. "Feel to do some business?"

The twins move over to table in a small alcove. Fanty tosses a few coins to a saloon-girl, who does a little fan-dance...in reality her dance just covers the cameras that are angled onto the table.

The men sit and take a sip of their drinks. Jayne sets a duffle bag down by Mal's foot, who then kicks it over to Mingo's feet.

"So how is that rag-tag crew of yours Captain Reynolds." Mingo asks.

"Yeah, they're a fine bunch."

"How you keep them on that crap boat is the subject of much musing tween me and Fanty." Mingo continues.

Fanty interjects now. "We go on and on."

"So I'm noticing. Is there a problem I don't know of? You got a lot of a sweet take kissing your foot, how come we're not dispersing?"

"Yes, but this is a little short...our end is forty, precious."

Jayne snorts. "My muscular buttocks it's forty."

"It is as of now. Find anyone around going cheaper."

"Find anyone around going near a sorry lot like you in the first instance."

"Am I missing something here?' Mal asks.

Mingo and Fanty look at each other now and then back towards Mal and Jayne. "News of a little train job has reached our ears..."

Mal's eyes squeeze shut. "Son of a...while that wasn't one of our finest moments, it don't mean anything." Mal says in his defense.

Jayne looks out into the bar now, and sees a familiar set of combat boots and legs walking down the stairs. He nudges Mal, who looks and turns back to business. They make no other indication that they see her and River wanders around the perimeter of the bar, vaguely listening in on Mal's deal.

Fanty continues now. "You're unlikable, Mal. You got no respect for us above you, you got enemies in every quadrant, and your ship's older than the starting point of time. You's charity cases to such as us.

XXX

...Riddick's POV...

I'm watching this deal start to go further south by the minute and I'm just waiting for some kind of signal from River.

I can see her from the shadows I'm perched in...she's walking around the room and taking everything in. She's slowing now in front of one screen...and something just doesn't feel right from her.

XXX

River's POV

She knows this place...she knew it the minute she walked in..but she can't remember...the further she walks into the room the less background noise she begins to hear until she final hears nothing... Then she hears a familiar sound and turns towards one of the screens. Her eyes widen is shock...horror...and terror...as her entire body stiffens and she hears the words that she couldn't decipher before...

**_...Fruity oaty bar  
Make a man out of a mouse..._**

Images flood her mind as the words continue...blood...syringes...hatred...anger...

**_...Fruity oaty bar  
Make you bust out of your blouse..._**

But she's rooted to the spot...it's as if someone is holding her eye balls open with clamps...making her watch...

.**_..Eat them all the time  
They will blow your mind..._**

Everything she repressed...every memory of her torture...every face in the room where she was shown off like a prize pig...come rushing back..their thoughts...their fears...

**_...Wo hen jiaonian diu lian - wo meiyou chi Fruity Oaty Bar!..._**

"Miranda." She whispers.

**_...Fruity oaty bars  
Fruity oaty bars..._**

...Reality Shifts...

She's back in the academy...back where they made her fight for her life...all she sees around her is enemies and threats.

She steels herself for the fight that is about to come and whispers to herself... "Once more into the fray... Into the last good fight I'll ever know... Live or die on this day... Live or die on this day..."

XXX

Riddick's POV

I know something is off the minute River takes off her coat...she looks almost like she's in a trance as she turns and strides silently to the first table where two men are drinking and then quietly slams her foot into one's face, then whips it back into the other's, knocking them both unconscious. I walk from the shadows as more people start paying attention and running away.

I see River register the people around her and she kicks the table into a card player even as she sweeps a bottle off it behind her - the bottle hits a man behind her square in the face, a man she never even looked at - people are rising, fleeing or pushing forward to the stairs and I have to fight my way through the crowd towards her.

XXX

Mal peaks from behind the fan dancer as he starts to hear something. Jayne peaks out behind him.

"Hey, tussle." Jayne says with excitement.

That's when both of them see the reason for the tussle.

"Jayne..." Mal says as they both look on in mild surprise as River is taking out a group of four with high kicks and perfect precision.

Two men come from either side, one whipping out a knife and she does a perfect split, grabs his wrist above her head, using his momentum to stab the other one.

"Do you know that girl?" Fanty asks.

"I actually have no idea." Mal says as he signals to Jayne to jump into the fight.

"Well gentlemen, it's been a pleasure." Mal says as he gets up

Riddick doesn't try and get to her...he merely works on keeping the oncoming men at bay so she isn't overwhelmed in the fight.

"RIVER!" He yells at her, but it's as if she doesn't hear him.

The bouncer reaches River now and tries to shock her, she merely wrests his shockrod from him, and then uses it on him.

"One of you calm her down!" As Mal makes a break for the gun lockers.

Jayne grabs her from behind and she fights against him. "Gorrammit, girl, it's me!" he yells at her as he struggles to maintain his hold on the small girl.

She grabs his crotch and squeezes...his grip loosens and she spins, facing him, and flat-heels his nose with her palm...twirling into a gut kick that doubles him over, dispatching of another while she cracks Jayne's head with a small tray. He falls to the ground in pain now.

Somebody pulls a gun and she snaps his elbow, causing him to scream out even before he shoots himself in the gut...Mal frantically searches for the key to the gun locker now in his pockets.

This is about the time that Kaylee and Simon manage to push their way into the bar despite the commotion.

"What's going on?" Kaylee says as she looks on at the scene below.

"Oh no!" Simon says as he runs forward towards the edge of the staircase. "What was that phrase!" Simon says to himself as he looks at River fighting below.

Mal has now freed his gun from the vending locker as River knocks the other guy's gun in the air, kicks someone else and then catches it, whips it around just as Mal comes up with his, they are pointed right at each other...

Simon has a flash and then screams out the words he remembers. "Eta Kooram Nah Smech!"

And with that River drops to the ground. it feels like a lifetime before any of them move...Jayne pushes himself up and Riddick walks over to River and checks her pulse and then picks her up. Mal looks around the bar. There are at least five men dead and many others in critical condition. Mal looks down at River. She's unconscious.

"I think maybe we ought to leave." Mal says as he senses come back to him.

XXX

...House Madrassa...

Inara stands waiting for the official to arrive. She has been asked to give him a tour. A man comes slowly up the staircase now and stands before her...her smile falters and she feels a sense of dread set into her stomach.

"Miss Inara Serra. I am so very pleased to make this acquaintance."

XXX

AN: And we are finally to the movie plot! I will say that it took me a while to figure out how exactly to play this, so I would love to hear what you guys think! Till next time...


	48. What if this storm ends?

AN: Okay, so I have heard back from a few people and they seem to confirm what I was thinking...that splitting this fic up after I tie up the Serenity plot line would be better. So this means that this fic will be coming to an end shortly...I am not sure how many updates it will take me to finish out the story line, but the end is near people. That being said, I do plan to continue with the Chronicles and new movie plot-lines in this verse, so be on the watch for those! Thank you to all my wonderful readers, followers, and reviewers. Shout outs go out to the recent reviews from Guin, BooklvrAnnie, Irishbtrneyes, and Shenandoah76209. Now on with the show!

Chapter 48: What if this storm ends?

XXX

They have her in the storage room next to the common area. River is still asleep, and Mal is just finishing chaining her wrists. She lies on her side, breathing evenly. Mal stares at her a moment, then exits to the dinning room.

Everyone is waiting for him, except Wash who is piloting Serenity out of Beaumonde as fast as he can

"May I see her?" Simon asks.

"She's still napping just now. And I believe you've got some storytelling to do." Mal says sternly.

Wash enters before Simon can start though. "We're out of atmo. No one following as of yet."

"Good." Mal says before turning back to Simon. "What in hell happened back there?"

Wash interjects now by sticking his arm in the air. "Start with the part where Jayne gets knocked out by a ninety pound girl. 'Cause I don't think that's ever getting old."

"Flyboy you know she can fight, you wouldn't have done much better." Riddick says before Jayne gets any more riled up.

"Do we know if anyone was killed?" Zoe asks seriously.

"I counted at least 5. I know she meant to kill me 'fore the Doc put her to sleep, which how exactly does that work anyhow?" Mal asks Simon.

"Safeword...it was in her files. River and the other subjects were being embedded with behavioral conditioning. It listed a safeword, in case... something happened."

Kaylee looks confused now. "Not sure I get it.

"A phrase that's encoded in her brain, that makes her fall asleep. If I speak the words, "Eta -"

Jayne jumps up from the chair he is sitting in now. "Well don't say it!"

Riddick gives him a look like River gives him when he is being an ass. "It only works on her, Jayne."

Jayne looks a little embarrassed now. "Oh. Well, now I know that."

Mal looks a might agitated.

"May I see her?" Simon asks again, and Mal softens and lets him pass.

"She goes woolly again, we're gonna have to put a bullet to her." Jayne says. Everyone shoots him a look like he is an ass, but it's what they were all thinking.

"Jayne..." Riddick says in warning.

"I didn't mean in the head! Just in the leg or something to slow her down."

"Can I make a suggestion that doesn't involve violence, or is this the wrong crowd?" Wash says trying to calm people down.

"Honey..." Zoe warns.

Book has been quiet up until now, but now he steps in to say his peace. "Fanty and Mingo might be coming hard down on us, or the law... or maybe nobody could be bothered about a little social brawl. We need to get our bearings. I think we need to talk to Mr. Universe."

Mal looks at him a moment before nodding his head to agree. "See, sage advice. Knew we kept you around for something."

"And here I thought it was my cooking." Book says as everyone gets up and walks towards the bridge. Riddick stays behind though and moves to the storage room where River is being kept.

XXX

...Reality Shifts...

She's standing in a pool of blood...an axe and a sword in her hands. She is covered in it...every inch of her...

**_...What if this storm ends?  
_****_And I don't see you  
_****_As you are now  
_****_Ever again..._**

The blast doors in front of her open now...and she sees them...but her eyes focus on his...and in that moment she see's herself through his eyes...mercurial colors swim and highlight her like a the vengeful goddess he sees her as...

**_The perfect halo  
_****_Of gold hair and lightning  
_****_Sets you off against  
_****_The planet's last dance_**

She hears the crash behind her feels the air being sucked out through the opening...she doesn't need to turn around to know how many people there are behind her...and what they are capable doing.

**_Just for a minute  
_****_The silver forked sky  
_****_Lit you up like a star  
_****_That I will follow_**

She's tense...she's running the numbers...so many variables, very few outcomes... they wait for their orders, but she know's they won't come...she felt him slip away...so many variables, very few outcomes...and as these seconds tick by, she knows she is losing more and more...

**_Now it's found us  
_****_Like I have found you  
_****_I don't want to run  
_****_Just overwhelm me_**

She takes a breath now and steadies herself...she's made her choice...she know's what she has to do...

**_What if this storm ends?  
_****_And leaves us nothing  
_****_Except a memory  
_****_A distant echo_**

She feels the tears well in her eyes...as she raises the axe in her hand and prepares to throw it...

**_I want pinned down  
_****_I want unsettled  
_****_Rattle cage after cage  
_****_Until my blood boils_**

"I'm sorry." She says barely above as whisper as she raises the axe and throws it at the panel that controls the blast doors. There is a hiss and a spark as they slam shut again.

**_I want to see you  
_****_As you are now  
_****_Every single day  
_****_That I am living_**

She knows he hears her as the doors slide shut...she feels it in him...feels his anger... his sorrow...she hopes he can forgive her...

**_Painted in flames  
_****_All peeling thunder  
_****_Be the lightning in me  
_****_That strikes relentless_**

...Reality Shifts Again...

XXX

Riddick's POV

I stand at the door and watch as the Doc checks on his sister.

"She okay Doc?" I ask as he finishes up.

"I think so." He says as he stands up and moves towards me.

"I'm not sure what that did to her though...there wasn't much in her files about the safeword. Just that there was one."

My anger spikes now. I want to gut them, each and every last person that did this to her.

"Those fucker's don't deserve to live." I growl as I restrain myself from punching the wall.

"I feel the same way."

XXX

...On Serenity's Bridge...

It had taken very little time for Mr. Universe to find the security feeds after Book had contacted him. He streams the video to Serenity while watching them as well.

"Oh, this is good. This is..." He giggles like a little girl now. "She's beating up all the burly men and I'm having a catharsis, it's happening right now, you guys always bring me the very best violence. You think you're in a hot place?"

"That's what we are hoping to find out. Is there any follow up, anything unusual..."

"Derrial you of all people would know this wouldn't go through normal channels..."

"What about the other ones?"

"No sir, none that I see. And no lawforce flags, either - I hadda go into the security feed direct..."

"You can do that?" Mal says with minor surprise in his voice.

"Security feeds are a traipse to access... and I wasn't the first one in, this has prints on it ... oh! Look at her go! Everyone is getting bruises and contusions. Contoooosions."

Zoe pipes in now. "So somebody else has been fed this. That doesn't like me too well."

"Zoe, you sultry minx, stop falling in love with me. You're just gonna embarrass yourself. I have a commitment to my Lovebot."

"Your what?!" Jayne exclaims.

"My Lovebot Lenore, which you all were so kind enough to deliver for me the last time you were here... it was a very beautiful ceremony, Lenore wrote her own vows, I cried like a baby, a hungry, angry baby."

Everyone kinda of shifts uneasily, not complete sure what to say. Book just chuckles at his old friend.

Mr. Universe continues to watch the security feeds. "And she falls asleep. Which, she would be sleepy."

"Can you go back? See if anybody spoke with her 'fore she acted up, made any kind of contact with her..."

Mr Universe works the screen. The image rewinds and stops on River coming up to it, looking at it. She whispers the word, "Miranda", and starts to move away.

"Miranda...? Go back further." Mal says as he watches the footage M. Universe is streaming to them.

Mr. Universe looks for a minute. "No.."He says as he pulls another screen close, starts working that one. Matching time-codes, he pulls up the commercial.

"Um... please?" Mal says sheepishly.

Mr Universe streams a third screen now showing the commercial as well - and it starts breaking down, bursts of code showing through.

"Friends and potential lovers, I have good news and I have the other kind. Good is you're very smart. Someone is talking to her."

"The oaty bar!?" Wash asks skeptical.

Realization dawns on Mal now. "Subliminal. It's a subliminal message broadwaved to trigger her."

Mr. Universe is nodding at Mal. "I been seeing this code pop up all over, last few weeks. And I cannot crack it. It's Alliance and it's high military, so here then is the bad. Someone has gone to enormous trouble to find your little friend. And found her they have."

Mal, Zoe and Wash look at each other, very uneasy now.

XXX

River's POV

The girl is impassive, she is here but not present...everything feels foreign and her brain swims with the images they put there...she keeps trying to decipher the mass of images... she wants to see why...

She feels their presence as she wakes up and she props herself up against the wall...they are talking in hushed voices outside the door...she feels Simon look in now...and he opens the door and walks in to check on her...Riddick is right behind him.

"They're afraid of her." She says as she looks down to her manacled hands.

"I'm sorry..." Simon says as he dabs a damp cloth on her face to wipe away some of the dried blood.

"They should be. What I will show them... Oh God..." She starts tearing up, breathing faster... Simon runs his hands through her hair.

"It's okay, it's okay..."

"Show me off like a dog, old men covered in blood, it never touched them but they're drowning in it... so much loss... I don't know what I'm saying. I never know what I'm saying..."

"You said something. When you were triggered, do you remember River? The Captain saw you say something on the feed..." Riddick prompts.

"Miranda." She whispers.

"Miranda." Simon repeats.

She feels the laugh bubble up inside of her now...its a bitter laugh and it leaves a bitter taste in her mouth. "Ask her. She'll show you all."

"Show us what? Who is Miranda?" Riddick asks.

But she doesn't say anything...she doesn't know...and she can't figure out how to make her mind explain.

"Are we... talking to Miranda now?" Simon asks with concern.

She shoots him a look.

"No. Right. But I think somehow when they triggered you it brought this up, this memory..."

The scenes flash before her eyes...their burning up her brain now...she grabs at Simon like he's a life line to keeping her grounded.

"It isn't mine. The memory. I didn't bring it and I shouldn't have to carry it, it isn't mine." And she cannot help but sob uncontrollably.

The sobs turn to laughs soon as she tilts her head back..."Put a bullet to me. Bullet in the brain pan, squish."

Now she feels strong arms shake her. "Don't say that. Not ever. We'll get through this." Riddick says.

She reaches out and touches his face, affectionately...his mind is trying to find a song to sing her...his heart trying to tell her something...but his mind won't let the man say the words yet...

"Things are going to get much much worse."

"River. What will Miranda show us."

She thinks...she closes her eyes and she sees the flashes...their faces...hears their screams in her ears...

"Death."

"Whose death?"

And she starts laughing. Quietly at first, then louder, then almost uncontrollably, and she cannot control the scream of an answer that escape.

"EVERYBODY'S!"

XXX

Riddick's POV

This is why I don't care about people...people disappoint you...they let you down...

Seeing River like this, completely broken open, her mind in pieces...this is why I never cared about anyone...

I leave the room after her brother gives her a shot to knock her out. He follows me out a minute later.

"We have to keep her like that." I say with authority.

"I know..." he says as his head slumps. "She's very likely to hurt herself if we don't."

"Suicide watch then?"

"I'm afraid so. I'll let the others know." The Doc says as he walks off towards the bridge.

I look at the closed door and throw one of my shivs at it in frustration. This is why I never cared before...

XXX

...Later that Evening...

They were all taking turns keeping an eye on River. Simon and Riddick had taken the first watch, and Kaylee and Zoe the next. Now it was Book and Mal's turn.

Both men sit ideally in the common area. Book reading his bible and Mal just listening to the whir of Serenity's engines.

"Lord, I am walking your way, Let me in, for my feet are sore, my clothes are ragged. Look in my eyes, Lord, and my sins, will play out on them as on a screen. Read them all. Forgive what you can, and send me on my path. I will walk on, until you bid me rest."

Mal sits up a little now. "Hope that ain't for me, Shepherd."

"It's prayer for the dead." Book says as he closes his bible.

Mal chuckles. "Then I really hope it ain't for me."

There is sadness in his voice when Book speaks next. "It's for the men River killed in that bar."

"Weren't River that did it, you know that. Somebody decided her brain was just another piece of property to take, fenced it right up." Mal says with a hint of anger in his voice.

Book turns to him. "You got a plan?"

"Hiding ain't a plan?"

"It'll do you for a spell..."

"...but they'll be coming. Alliance is after this girl with a powerful will. I look to hear the tromp of their boots any moment." Mal states.

"You won't." Book simply replies.

Mal gives him a look as if to say to go on and he obliges. "This isn't a palms-up military run, Mal. No reports broadwaved, no new warrants... much as they want her, they want her hid. That means Closed File. Means an Operative, which is trouble you've not known."

Mal runs his hands through his hair. "I coulda left her there." He gets up and walks over to the door to the storage room and peaks in the glass window.

"I had an out... hell, I had every reason in the 'verse to leave her lay and haul anchor."

"Not your way, Mal."

"I have a way?" and he thinks for a moment as he walks back to the table. "Is that better than a plan?"

"You can play the thug all you want, but there's more to you than you're ever like to 'fess...you care for the girl like she is your own. It's made even more interesting by the fact that you care for her mother..."

Mal gives him a look now as if to ask where he is going.

"Whether you want to admit it or not Mal, you protected her from the moment she popped out of that box...it's why we all find it so amusing you get so riled up when she calls you Captain Daddy..."

The Shepherds words begin to sink in now and Mal looks even more sad than he did before.

"Only one thing is gonna walk you through this, Mal. Belief."

"Sermons make me sleepy, Shepherd. I ain't looking for help from on high. That's a long wait for a train don't come."

"When I talk about belief, why do you always assume I'm talking about God?"

Mal has no response for him now.

"They'll come at you sideways. It's how they think: sideways. It's how they move. Sidle up and smile, hit you where you're weak...Sorta man they're like to send believes hard. Kills and never asks why."

Mal regards the man in front of him like he is meeting him for the first time now. "It's of interest to me how much you seem to know about that world."

"I wasn't born a Shepherd, Mal."

"Have to tell me about that some time."

Book gives him a little wry smile now. "No I don't...but you never know."

XXX

...House Madrassa...

Inara is sitting tensely at the table. She is trying not to show how much the man across from her unnerves her.

"More tea?" She asks as politely as possible.

"Yes, thank you Ms. Serra." He says as he extends his cup for her to pour into.

He watches her as she refills his cup.

"There is a great deal of you in her." He says as she finishes.

Inara holds her breath, inwardly asking how? How could he possible know?

As if hearing her inner thoughts he answers. "She has your eyes, and your grace."

Inara's eyes narrow at him now. She no longer feels the need to keep up the charade. "Tell me, how do you sleep at night? Knowing your hunting an innocent girl."

"Oh but that's where you are wrong, your little girl is far from innocent."

"She was tortured."

"Torture is a strong word."

"Brave men do not gather by thousands to torture and murder a single individual, so gagged and bound she cannot make even feeble resistance or defense."

"But she did, she was quite exquisite as she slaughtered all of the scientists and people in her way. I have seen the footage, perhaps you would care to see it too?"

"Your a monster."

"That may be...if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you."

XXX

...A few hours later...

Mal is startled awake. He jerks up from his bunk at the noise. "Whuh huh nuhwhat?"

"Mal! You up? Got a wave. I'm a bounce it down to you." Wash says over the comm.

Mal pops up now, he urns to the screen as the white noise becomes:

"Inara."

"Mal. I uh, is this a bad time?" She asks as she sees he doesn't have a shirt on.

"Good as any."

"Please tell me you're wearing pants." She replies as she looks him up and down, a small blush creeping into her cheeks.

Mal grins slightly now. "Naked as the day I come cryin'. How's your world?"

"Cold. It's autumn here."

The second she doesn't react, he knows something is up. He sees her look off the scream a little and it confirms what he thought.

"Still at the Training House?"

"Right where you left me." She says quickly. Mal can tell she is nervous.

"I remember it as nice enough...picturesque."

"It is that. What about you?"

"Still flying. So what occasi the wave?"

"I... I guess we have something of a problem here. With the locals, I thought maybe..."

Mal cuts in before she can finish. "You could use a gun hand?"

"I'm hoping not. But if you were close at all, you - the crew - could take your ease here a while... and there'd be payment..."

"Payment is never not a factor. I could sound out the crew... This pot like to boil over soon?"

"Soon. Not right away." Inara smiles blandly, nods. Again she glances off screen for the briefest of moments.

"Well, it's kind of late where I'm at. I'll send a wave as soon as I can."

"Thank you." She disappears. Mal thinks a moment before grabbing a shirt and heading upstairs.

XXX

...Serenity's Bridge a few moments later...

Mal comes up in, buttoning his shirt.

"So, trap?" Zoe asks as she sees Mal walk in.

"Trap." Mal responds as he does up the last button.

"We goin' in?" Jayne asks.

"It ain't but a few hours out..."

Wash cuts in now. "Yeah, but, remember the part where it's a trap?"

"If that's the case, then Inara's already caught in it. She wouldn't set us up willing. Might be we got a shot at seeing who's turning these wheels. We go in."

XXX

...The next day...

Serenity moves gracefully over the mountains near House Madrassa. Since Inara still had their only shuttle, they were going to have to drop in close enough that walking wouldn't be too difficult.

Wash, Zoe, and Mal are in the bridge, looking out across the horizon for any hint of Alliance.

"We're about five miles from the Training house. And nobody on radar... if the Alliance is about, they're laying low." Wash says.

"They're about. Find us a home. I'll walk it. Zoe, ship is yours." Mal says as he turns to walk out of the bridge. He turns back towards Zoe after a few steps.

"Remember: if anything happens to me, or you don't hear from me within the hour... you take this ship and you come and rescue me."

Zoe leans back against Wash's seat a little, a hint of amusement in her voice. "What? And risk my ship?"

Mal turns and continues out now. "I mean it. It's cold out there. I don't wanna get left."

XXX

AN: DUN DUN DUN! Poor River, but unfortunately like she said it's going to get a whole lot worse. As always reviews, good or bad, always appreciated.


	49. Bodies Back From the Dead

AN: Okay, sorry for the long wait time for an update people. I kind of wrote myself into the corner and had to think of a solution that a) I could live with and b) wouldn't add an additional 5 chapters to this thing. That being said, I think i finally came up with something. Shout outs go to Raggio, Irishbrneyes, Shenandoah76209 (who also writes amazing River/Riddick fics that you should all check out), BooklvrAnnie, and beautifulmess2005 for your reviews. They really mean a lot to me. Now enough stalling and on to the show!

Chapter 49: Bodies and Back From the Dead

XXX

Riddick's POV

I'm waiting in the cargo bay for the Captain. I don't have to wait long before he comes down the stairs.

"Riddick." He says as he approaches.

"I don't like it."

Mal frowns now. "Wasn't asking for you opinion."

"You're gonna get yourself killed going in there alone."

"Like I said, wasn't asking for you opinion." He repeats as he walks past me.

"HEY! I'm talking to you." I bark at him.

He stops but he doesn't turn around.

"You fought for the Independents...Battle of Serenity Valley...besides you and Zoe how many of your men come out of that."

He still doesn't turn and look at me, but his fist is clenching. A minute goes by before he says anything. "You'd do it for River." He says and then he walks out.

XXX

...House Madrassa...

Inara is kneeling in front of a statue of Buddha, lighting a few incense sticks. The room is sparsely lush. A lace curtain hangs in front of the light, casting its pattern in shadow over everything. Including the rather large figure in a red shawl who kneels beside Inara...

"Dear Buddha, please send me a pony, and a plastic rocket, and..."

She turns to the figure next to her and her eyes widen. "Mal! What are you doing here?"

He looks back at her a bit surprised. "You invited me."

"I never thought for a second you'd be stupid enough to come!"

He smiles a little. "Well that makes you kind of a tease, doesn't it?" Even now he can't resist teasing her.

"You knew my invitation wasn't on the level..." Inara says as she gets up.

"Which led me to the conclusion that you must be in some trouble."

Inara checks the door nervously. "I'm fine! I'm. giddy."

"For a woman schooled in telling men what they wanna hear, you ain't much of a liar."

"Mal, you cannot handle this man." Inara says as she backs away from the door and the man entering.

The Operative stands before them, his briefcase in his hands. He's carefully studying Mal. "I have to say, I'm impressed that you would come for her yourself. And that you would make it this far in that outfit."

Mal stands now. "I can be very graceful when I need to."

"I've no doubt."

Mal sheds his shawl and robe. Inara kneels at the alter, picks out another incense stick.

"What are you doing?" Mal asks confused.

"I'm praying for you, Mal."

The Operative smiles. "That's very thoughtful. But I mean it when I say you're not in any danger."

"Speak your piece." Mal says as he watches the man.

"I think you're beginning to understand how dangerous River Tam is."

"She is a mite unpredictable. Mood swings, of a sort."

"It's worse than you know."

"It usually is." Mal says as he moves to stand in front of Inara protectively.

"That girl will rain destruction down on you and your ship. She's an albatross, Captain."

"Way I remember it, albatross was a ship's good luck... til some idiot killed it."

Inara looks at Mal as if he has sprouted another head. Mal turns to Inara slightly. "Yes, I've read a poem. Try not to faint."

The Operative moves further into the room. Whenever he moves, Mal counters.

"I've seen your war record. I know how you must feel about the Alliance."

Mal grimaces. "You really don't."

"Fair to say. But I have to hope you understand you can't beat us."

"I got no need to beat you. I just wanna go my way."

"And you can do that, once you let me take the girl back home. Give me the opportunity to help you."

"All I gotta do is let you take one more thing away from me. I've had a lot of things taken in my time. And it may just be that this is one too many."

The Operative looks on incredulously. "This psychotic, potentially murderous girl who can't have the slightest awareness of your protection. This is where you "draw the line"."

Mal smirks. "Well I'm a whimsical soul."

"There's a number of lives that hang in the balance here. Lives under your care. Are they as whimsical as yourself?"

"I got no notion that I'm being heroical at all. Any more than I think you're really just a harmless bureaucrat come to help me out. You move like a killer."

The Operative is stopped by this. Unhappily, he continues. "I have a warship in deep orbit, Captain. We locked on to Serenity's pulse beacon the moment you hit atmo. I can speak a word and send a missile to that exact location inside of three minutes."

Mal pulls a small device, clipped wires sticking out all around it, and tosses it to the Operative. "You do that, best make peace with your dear and fluffy lord."

The man smiles as if amused. "Pulse beacon."

"Advice from an old tracker: you wanna find someone, use your eyes."

"How long do you think you can really run from us?" The man says with a chuckle.

"Oh, a jack-rabbit, like me? 'Sides, I never credited the Alliance with an over-abundance of brains. And if you're the best they got..."

"Captain Reynolds, I should tell you so that you don't waste your time: You can't make me angry."

"Oh please. Spend an hour with him." Inara says with an eye roll.

Mal smiles - then glares at Inara, mouthing "Hey!"

"I need her, Captain. River is... my purpose and I will gather her to me. Whatever else happens is incidental. In the greater scheme."

"Why is it that the greater scheme always makes everything not that great?" Mal asks to no one in particular.

"I want to resolve this like civilized men. I'm not threatening you. I'm unarmed." He says as he moves to sit down.

"Great!" Mal says as he draws his pistol and fires at the man's chest. The Operative is thrown back by the force of the shot. Mal grabs Inara, and moves for the-doorway. However, Mal is quickly captured in choke-hold from behind.

"I am of course wearing full body armor. I'm not a moron."

He tosses Mal hard against a wall, while spinning and blocking a blow from Inara. However, what Inara failed to notice was that the Operative had a small dagger in his hand...it doesn't register at first but then she begins to feel the pain in her abdomen. The Operative throws her off and focuses his attention back on Mal.

Mal is going for his gun again, turning, and the Operative kicks him in the face, sends him back, gun flying. The Operative walks over to his case and draws his sword now. Mal gets up breathing hard, nose dripping blood. The Operative perfectly poised, waiting.

"What is it with swords?" Mal asks he sees the blade.

"Mal! Here!" Inara says as she throws him a decorative sword that was in the room. He catches it and the fight begins again.

"No back up? We're making an awful ruckus..." Mal says as the Operative comes in close.

"They'll come when they're needed." He is clearly amused by the show.

"I'd start whistling."

"Captain, what do you think is going to happen here?"

They come at each other again. The Operative is the much better trained - he's fluid, his blows sparse and deadly. Mal is more bluster and determination, and the Operative's precision is wearing Mal down. Mal swings wild - the Operative counters with a spin-that sends Mal to the ground not far from Inara, breathing hard. He tries to rise again, painfully. The Operative kicks Mal's sword away.

"Nothing here is what it seems. He's not the plucky hero. The Alliance isn't some evil empire. This isn't the grand arena." He says as he prepares to strike.

"And that's not incense." Inara says.

The Operative turns to look: the incense stick burns away - rather like a fuse - and FLASHES in an explosion of light and sound.

XXX

River's POV

She felt it..the minute it pierced her flesh she felt it...She feels it draining from her now...feels her getting weaker...she looks around for something...anything...to break her bonds...but she's fading...and there is nothing the girl can do...tears start blurring her eyes...

XXX

...Back on Serenity...

"Wash get us airborn!" Mal barks as he walks off the shuttle carrying a very weak Inara who is clutching at her stomach, her hand trying to staunch the blood.

"DOC!" Mal screams.

He's moving as fast as he can towards the infirmary. He practically runs into Kaylee, Zoe, and Simon as he makes his way there.

"What happened?" Kaylee asks in shock as she sees Inara.

"Inara... Don't move." Simon says as he turns and runs to the infirmary.

Mal sets her gently as he can on the infirmary table. Simon is frantically pulling things out of drawers.

"Shouldn't've been you. I'm so sorry, it was... it should've been me." Mal says with tears in his eyes.

"That crossed... my mind." Inara says weakly as she looks at Mal. She is as pale as a ghost.

"Doc'll bring you round. I look to have many more nights with you more 'fore you slip... don't move _bao-bei_..." Mal says as places a kiss on her hand. She moves to cup his face.

Simon is working franticly. Mal is vaguely aware of the others trying to help too.

"I'm sorry Mal..." Inara says weakly. Mal's barely holding it together now; he knows what is going to happen.

"I... love you..." Inara begins to say. "tell her...I...love her too." Her breathing becomes laboured. Hitched. And then stops.

The entire room is shocked silent. No one can believe what has just happened. It isn't until Mal begins to sob that everyone else can process.

XXX

River's POV

Her entire body is wracked with spasms as she feels it...she feels arms holding her down...can hear voices talking..."_seizure..." "...help" "River!" _"_I love her too" _filter in before she feels something jammed in her mouth and her eyes roll back into her head...

...Reality Shifts...

**_...Let the bodies hit the floor..._**

She sitting in the same classroom as her nightmare...everyone around her is lying down...not moving...and when she blinks they are gone.

**_...Beaten why for (why for)  
Can't take much more..._**

She looks over to her side and it's as if she is looking back into the lab where they...tortured her...men in white coats...Dr. Mathais... and men from Parliament...

**_...Here we go!..._**

She focuses and it's as if she is being sucked into them...their memories begin to flood her vision...but it's as if they are played in reverse...

**_...One - Nothing wrong with me  
Two - Nothing wrong with me..._**

Reavers...blood...some type of chemical...a settlement...thousands of people...all lying down...the images change rapidly...

**_...Three - Nothing wrong with me  
Four - Nothing wrong with me..._**

And then she is jolted back into her body...back in the classroom...

**_Let the bodies hit the floor_**

She looks around and again she is alone...she walks forward to where there is a cortex open with something flashing on it...

**_...Push me again  
This is the end..._**

She looks down at the cortex and it's a world...

**_...One - Something's got to give  
Two - Something's got to give  
Three - Something's got to give..._**

And that's when all of the images connect and crystalize in her brain...

**_...Skin against skin blood and bone  
You're all by yourself but you're not alone  
You wanted in now you're here..._**

"Miranda." She whispers.

**_...Driven by hate  
consumed by fear..._**

She feels hands on her again now...

**_...Let the bodies hit the floor..._**

...Reality Shifts Again...

XXX

...Back at House Madrassa...

The Operative sips tea and rubs his temple. He speaks into his comm unit.

"Forget the pulse beacon, there has to be another way to track the ship...get a read on the nav sat. It's a registered transport, you must be able to locate..."

"Sir?" The cadet on the other line of the com interrupts.

"Have you found a nav sat trajectory?" The Operative asks as he sets down his tea.

"Sir... we've found seven."

The Operative looks furious. "Does he think this is a game?"

XXX

River's POV

The girl awakens. It takes her a moment to get her bearings...they had moved her to the infirmary...

She looks over at the body covered in a white sheet...and she feels the tears well up in her eyes all over again.

"She heard you...the girl is sorry..so sorry." She says through sobs.

Her eyes narrow with intent now. She must show them...they have to see. She will make them see...

XXX

Riddick's POV

"We have every reason to be afraid." Book says.

We are all in the common area. Trying to figure out what the fuck to do.

"He's intelligent, methodical and devout in his belief that killing River is the right thing to do...I honestly think the only reason we haven't been blown out of the air is that he needs to see her."

"Needs to see her why?" I ask.

"I'm uncertain. I would say to be sure of the kill, but... I just know he'll kill us all to get to her." The man truthfully looks the most tired I've ever seen him. And I saw him go through hell.

"Preacher...as much as I love this insight, I think it's best you told us how it is you know so much about all this now."

"Isn't it obvious? He was one." Jayne says from the back of the room.

All eyes turn and look at Cobb now, and I honestly think I have just seen the man grow a brain.

"There any truth to that preacher?" Zoe asks.

Book looks a little dejected that his secret isn't so secret anymore. "It's true...I was an Operative in another life."

"Did you know about this?" Mal asks me now.

I shrug my shoulders. "Girl knew...he told me after we made it off that black hole of a hell together."

"Explains why your such a good shot." Jayne remarks. He gets an elbow from Kaylee.

"Explains why you knew what he would do." Mal says with a hint of anger.

"I never thought this would happen...if I could have done anything to..." Book starts to say, but he can't bring himself to say it. The whole room doesn't want to think about it.

"I'm going to go check on River." Simon says as he silence in the room becomes too much for him.

XXX

River's POV

She can feel where they are as she climbs through the ventilation shafts towards the bridge...their minds oscillate with sadness and anger...

Now Simon moves...goes to check on the girl...but he won't find her...she has two point three minutes to reach the bridge now...

XXX

Riddick's POV

The Doc comes running back a few minutes after he left, he smells of fear and worry.

"River is gone! He says as he catches his breath.

"What the fuck do you mean she's gone?" I ask in disbelief.

"Find her and-do not engage!" Mal says as he gets up from the table and walks towards the bridge. Before he gets there though the doors out of the common area slam shut and lock.

Mal starts throwing his shoulder against the bolted door to the upstairs. He gives up, looking around. "She's sealed off the bridge. How the hell did she get to the bridge?" He asks with a wild look in his eyes.

My anger is flooding my veins now. What the fuck is she playing at. "Vents...girl used them to get around when Early got onboard."

"Kaylee get us a bolt remover." Mal says as he walks back towards the cargo bay. "Jayne you stand guard at that door...she comes out...grab her."

Kaylee scurries on ahead and Jayne hold his position. "I'll stay with Jayne, maybe talk reason to her if she shows." Book says.

"Me too!" Wash says.

I walk with Mal, Zoe, and Simon to the cargo bay.

"I do not like her on the bridge." Zoe says as we reach one of the larger vents.

"Cap'n!" Kaylee tosses Mal a bolt remover. He starts pulling a bolt out of a panel on the wall.

"You two hold this spot and catch her if she comes back this way." Mal says as he pops the panel off and starts wriggling in among the wires.

XXX

River's POV

She feels him as the floor panel hinges open, and he is pulling himself up. He moves quietly to the bridge, gun drawn...

"Sorry Captain Daddy." She knows he won't hear her though. She pulls one of the spare guns he leaves on the bridge from it's hiding spot, the one he put there after Early's visit, and continue to work.

She can feel him behind her. His mind a cacophony of anger. He walks towards her gun drawn, but she whips her gun at his face, never looking at him. A moment goes by and then she feels him lowers his own gun.

"The government's man, he says you're a danger to us. Not worth helping. Is he right? Are you anything but a weapon? I've staked my crew's life on the a...person...actual and whole, and if I'm wrong you'd best shoot me now."

She cocks the gun...she needs to buy a little more time...She has almost found it.

"Or we could talk more..."

X marks the spot. Her shaky hand points at the screen now. "Miranda... matches the one from her dream."

He comes and stands next to her now...looking intently at the screen.

XXX

Riddick's POV

Everyone has gathered. Wash is piloting now, and River is by Simon. She moves restlessly, upset.

"How can it be there's a whole planet called Miranda and none of us knowed that?" Kaylee asks.

Mal says as he studies the cortex. "Because there isn't one. It's a blackrock. Uninhabitable. Terraforming didn't hold, or some such. Few settlers died."

"Wait a tick, yeah! Some two years back, before the war. There was call for workers to settle on Miranda... I should've recalled." Jayne says as the metaphorical light bulb goes off over his head.

Everyone is a little surprised the big man can remember such an innocuous little fact like that. Hell even I am surprised.

"But there's nothing about it on the Cortex...History, Astronomy... it's not in there." Mal says as he looks for more information.

I scoff at him. "Hell Mal, you should know out of everyone that half of writing history is hiding the truth. There's something on this rock the Alliance doesn't want known..."

River moves forward now and begins looking at the planet again. "That's at the edge of the Burnham Quadrant...Furthest planet out. It's not that far from here..." She says as she turns back to the others.

"Whoah, no, no..." Wash practically yells.

Zoe moves to another screen. "That's a bad notion..." She hits some commands on the screen, pulls back to reveal a couple of other planets near Miranda. "This is us, see? And here's Miranda. All along here, this dead space in between, that's Reaver territory."

Everyone but me visible stiffens or shutter a little. Even River.

"They just float out there, sending out raiding parties...Maybe a hundred ships. And more every year. You go through that you're signing up to be a banquet." Wash says emphatically.

XXX

River's POV

"We have no choice." She replies methodically.

"Like hell we do!" Jayne says. "I ain't signing up to be Reaver chow."

"No where left to go."

"We got friends, we can just..."

"No, it would put them in danger...if we haven't already."

"She's right...first thing he'll try and do is smoke us out." Book replies sadly. "We go to anyone we are putting them at risk."

"So what do we do? Just turn over and die?' Zoe says with a hint of anger.

There is a moment of silence. No one has an answer for what they should do. Despite all the numbers and outcomes she can run, nothing gives her an answer.

Mal finally breaks the silence. "We're going to Miranda."

And then people begin to chime in.

"Sir?" Zoe asks skeptically.

"Are you insane?" Wash blurts out.

Jayne yells. "I ain't gonna be reaver chow!"

Mal doesn't listen to them. "Wash set us down on the nearest rock."

Next he turns to Kaylee. "Kaylee, I need you to muck the reactor core, just enough to leave a trail and make it read like we're flying without containment, not enough to fry us."

Kaylee blinks a few times and then begins to protest. "But Cap..."

"Kaylee, you got a day's work to do and two hours to do it."

"Jayne, you and Riddick are going to use whatever piece of scrap you can find in whatever town we come across to make a cannon. It's gonna go right on top. Grab some a piece or two of other ships, stick it on. Any place you can tear hull without inner breach, do that too. And we're gonna need paint. We're gonna need red paint."

Riddick nods his head at Mal. The girl can hear the thoughts of Riddick...he understands what the Captain attempts to do, and knows that there is no other way.

Again, the crew is stunned into silence. The girl merely tilts her head as she deciphers the words and thoughts in the Captain's head.

Zoe breaks the silence now. "Sir. Do you really mean to turn our home into an abomination so we can make a suicidal attempt at passing through Reaver space?

"I mean to live. I mean for us to live. The Alliance won't have that, so we go where they won't follow.

Jayne protests. "God's balls, there's no way we're going out there!"

"What's the point of living if you sink to the level of a savage?"

"Please, we should talk this over." Book says as calmly as he can.

"I ain't takin' orders from a man has lost his brainstem." Jayne starts.

Mal pulls his gun and sticks it in Jayne's face. "This is how it works. Anybody doesn't wanna fly with me anymore, next stop is your port of harbour. There's a lot of fine ways to die. I'm not waiting for the Alliance to choose mine. I mean to confound those killers, and take my shot at getting to Miranda, maybe finding out what all I'm dying for. That's my theme now. So I hear a word out of any of you that ain't helping me out when we hit dirt or taking your leave I will fucking shoot you."

Again, nobody says a thing.

"Get ready to get to work." Mal says as he storms off the bridge.

XXX

...A little while later...

Jayne and Riddick were able to gather all the materials they needed. With Wash and Kaylee's help they were able to construct a cannon mount using Vera as the primary weapon. It was small, but it would look the part. River had managed to construct facsimiles of corpses using metal bits and other pieces of scrap that were found in the small town they came across. Wash had docked Serenity far enough out of town that they were able to work without nosy towns-folk watching...they kept to themselves and were happy for the extra coin they made on all the spare parts the strangers bought.

Now a hardly recognizable Serenity was flying towards Reaver space, cannon atop with a space-suited facsimile draped within, long scars, welded-on parts and war paint... the trail of green light burns out with sporadic bursts of vapor. It looks, for all the world, like a Reaver ship.

XXX

River's POV

She is sitting on the floor in _her_ shuttle. She doesn't bother to turn on the lights or light the candles that were left around the room. She merely sits quietly...not quite sure how to feel.

"You should sleep awhile." She hears from the doorway.

She turns to see Mal standing at the door...almost like he is afraid to step onto hollowed ground. She can feel his sadness...hear the words he would have liked to tell _her_. Her heart breaks for him.

She sighs. "You think anyone's set to sleep? Simon's portioning out overdoses of morphine. Riddick and Jayne are prepping all of the weapons that we have...just in case."

"Cheerful fellows." Mal says as he finally steps into the shuttle. He looks around as if he is seeing it for the first time...really seeing it.

"She told me...told me to tell you..." He tries to say. The girl can tell he won't be able to vocalize the words.

She feels a tear roll down her cheek. "She knows...she heard." She can barely speak above a whisper as the tears begin to fall now.

He comes and slumps next to where she sits on the floor. His own sadness weighing him down.

She turns and looks at the broken man next to her. His eyes are slightly blood shot and his face looks to have aged five years in the last few hours.

"She..._I.._am sorry. This is all my fault."

"Ain't no reason for you to be sorry...and this isn't your fault. You been tortured and tormented by these hundans long enough." He says with some determination.

XXX

Serenity flies, silent. Everyone waits on the bridge nervously. Those close enough to get a view out the window are looking freaked everyone is stock still. Pressed up against the glass of the window is River, just staring out to see the armada. The black sky is filled with what must be ninety ships in a vague cluster, as Serenity heads toward them. Most of them hang still in the air. Some move swimmingly about. Some turn in gentle drifts, as though looking around. They all wait, tensed up, as they approach, moving slowly through the ranks of ships. Serenity passes a large, bizarrely shaped ship. It turns, as though watching her.

No one says or thinks anything...afraid that the slightest change in anything will ruin their chances of getting through the storm.

It is another minute before Serenity makes it through the Armada, but once they do, they all let out the breath they were all holding and begin to head for the small planet just beyond.

XXX

...Miranda...

Clouds fog the windows, so nothing below is visible.

"Every reading I'm getting says normal. Oceans, land masses... no tectonic instability or radiation." Zoe says as she monitors the scanners.

"Yeah, but no power, either." Wash says as he looks over his screens.

"Nothing at all?" Mal asks.

Suddenly there is a blip on one of Wash's screens. "Wait. Something. Might be a beacon, but it's awful weak."

"Find it." Mal says as he looks over Wash's shoulder at the blip.

XXX

Riddick's POV

I'm watching River pace from the doorway to the bridge. She is pacing back and fourth in the common area as we fly over the surface of Miranda. She's quietly muttering to herself as she does.

"You're making me a tad nervous with all that pacing River."

This seems to break her trance like focus and she looks over at me. "Calculating... adding things up...running numbers..." But just as quickly as the trance was broken, she slips back into it.

I hear footsteps coming down the stairs behind me. Heavy enough to be a man, so that leaves one of two choices right now considering Book and Jayne are getting the suits ready.

"How she doin?" Mal asks from behind me.

He stops and stands next to me in the doorway, worry seemingly etched on his face.

"She comes out of it every once in awhile...mostly just keeps rattling off numbers."

Mal pinches the bridge of his nose. There is a shift in the way he smells and it piques my curiosity.

"Why did you agree to come here Mal. I know that you ain't fond of thought of dying, but this seems like even a stretch for you."

He sighs and seems to deflate a little. "I didn't do right by Nara. There are a thousand things I wish I could do over...River's her daughter. And while they may not have had a conventional relationship...least I can do for Nara is to look after her." He says as he motions to River.

I got to hand it to the man. He has one hell of a moral code.

XXX

Serenity touches down, and after a moment Mal, Zoe and Jayne emerge from the airlock in full suits, armed and in the outskirts of a city. Zoe reads a handheld scanner...

"Gravity's Earthnorm. 02 levels check, pressure... if there's anything wrong the scanner isn't reading it."

" -ai-n-lt anything wrong with the settlement." Jayne says in bewilderment.

"We flew over at least a dozen cities just as big. Why didn't we hear about this?"

Mal pulls off his helmet. Breathes, looking around him. "Well something sure as hell ain't right..."

Mal looks around. Gleaming metal, spread out for miles in every direction. Portions decimated by fires long since cold, others overgrown with weeds, but mostly intact. But silent, as if trapped in amber.

XXX

River's POV

She watches as they all descend the cargo bay ramp. Jayne, Riddick, Mal, and Zoe all armed with various guns...should the need arise. She knows they won't need them though...because she can hear the faint whispers of nothingness in her head. The wind whirling through the streets carries their voices...their memories...and the silent music in her head to her.

**_...Why does it feel like night today?  
_****_Something in here's not right today  
_****_Why am I so uptight today?  
_****_Paranoia's all I got left..._**

She continues to walk and follow the others...as the voices of nothing grow.

**_...But I know just what it feels like  
_****_To have a voice in the back of my head  
_****_It's like a face that I hold inside  
_****_A face that awakes when I close my eyes  
_****_A face that watches everytime I lie  
_****_A face that laughs everytime I fall  
_****_And watches everything..._**

"Hold." Zoe says as she moves rapidly, gun out, to a skeleton face-down on the ground, clothes tattered. She examines it as Mal approaches, waving the others back.

"No entry wound, fractures..." She says as she looks up at Mal.

"Poison?"

No Jayne's voice is heard. "Got another one!" He is by a downed hovercraft. Inside are three skeletons: two grown-ups and a small child. Clothes in better condition, and again no sign of violence.

"They's all just sittin'. Didn't crash..." He says bewildered as he turns back to the group.

The further they move into the city...the more she hears...and while the girl is trying to keep her composure...the voices...and music...begin to wear her down.

**_...It's like I'm paranoid looking over my back  
_****_It's like a whirlwind inside of my head  
_****_It's like I can't stop what I'm hearing within  
_****_It's like a face inside that's right beneath my skin..._**

She sees Kaylee walking near the front of an office building, staying away from the cars. As she backs up into the window the automatic blinds shift and there is a corpse of a man is pressed up against the glass wall right behind her. Mouth open, skin dead blue, terribly skinny... a thing to haunt.

She tries to steer Kaylee without alarming her. "Kaylee... Come here. Don't..." But she cannot find the right words with the voices and music crowding her head.

**_...Here we go again with the pain I feel isn't real  
_****_But in my mind, I find myself in places with names but not faces  
_****_My memory races at speeds  
_****_Hundred degrees  
_****_My soul bleeds, devil must've planted the seed..._**

But she looks... "AAAAaaoh God..." She scurries away from the window quickly and steps back behind Simon, horrified, as the others approach.

She watches as the group peers in. It's an office of some kind. About half the employees are there, in chairs or on the ground, all in the same state as the first fellow.

"How come they're preserved?" Jayne asks.

"Place must've gone hermetic when the power blew. Sealed 'em." Riddick rumbles in response.

Kaylee is becoming truly upset at all that she sees now, and her fear is not helping the girl's calm. "What're they doing? What's everybody doing?"

**_...The screaming my name  
_****_I need somebody to help me out of the frame..._**

Simon approaches the window now. "There's no discoloration, nobody's doubled over or showing signs of pain..."

"There's gasses that kill painless, right?" Riddick asks.

"But they didn't fall down. None of them. They just lay down." Book remarks.

Simon's mind is in medical mode. "More than anything, it looks like starvation."

"Anybody want to bet there's plenty of food around?" Mal says.

**_There's nothing worse than trying to bring yourself on back from the dead_**

"They just lay down...dead" She says with tears in her eyes. She is at her breaking point again.

They notice her now...She is in the middle of the street, keening, clutching her head. She doesn't want to see this...doesn't wan to see all the bodies. In homes, in piles...an entire world, gently dead.

"Make them stop! They're everywhere, every city every house every room, they're all inside me, I can hear them all and they're saying nothing! GET UP! PLEASE, GET THEM UP!..." Simon comes over and puts his hands on her shoulders trying to offer comfort now.

"She's starting to damage my calm." Jayne says as he pulls his gun out of his holster and takes a step towards her.

"Jayne..." Riddick all but growls at the merc.

"She's right! Everybody's dead! This whole world is dead for no reason!" He takes another step towards the girl.

"Jayne calm your trigger happy ass down...NOW!" Mal yells.

"Look let's just get to this damn beacon and try and figure all this out." Wash says as he tries to inject something other than violence into the air.

"Finally some starts talking sense!" Simon says with a hint of relief as he stands up and moves in front of River slightly.

The girl looks up to see the ape man glaring at her but he re-holsters his gun. He's afraid...and he doesn't like it. She can't blame him...she's afraid too.

XXX

AN: Okay, so there it is. Yes, I know that I am slightly evil to do this to Mal and to River. But if I needed who ever it was death to be a big impact on Mal. Since Book was still on Serenity, there was really only two choices for who that could be. Needless to say, no one is safe from the chopping block. I have an idea of where I want things to go, and like River I am still running all the scenarios to see which one gets me to where I want to be. So till next time...


	50. Famous Last Words To the End

AN: First I would like to thank BooklvrAnnie, Guin, syef, Irishbrneyes, and Shenandoah76209 for the recent reviews...Now on with the show!

Chapter 50: Famous Last Words To the End

XXX

River's POV

She can feel it getting nearer, as if her whole body is humming from the proximity. They follow the twisting streets for another few minutes until they come to a badly damaged Alliance Research Vessel. Jayne and Riddick pry open the door so that they can all enter with ease. No one says anything as they enter, they are all just trying to process.

It's a mess inside... doors pried open, signs of violence but no bodies. But she hears them...hears their restless whispers of nothingness...They reach the main chamber and that is when she sees it...like a lighthouse in a storm...

She approaches a console, and a small cylindrical object. She turns it slightly...A hologram squawks to life amidst them all. Everyone turns to look...and it as if someone was projecting straight from the girl's mind...Corpses, everywhere. And that is when she begins to speak.

"These are just a few of the images we've recorded, and you can see it isn't.. it isn't what we thought. There's been no war here, and no terraforming event. The environment is stable. It's the Pax, the G-32 Paxilon Hydroclorate that we added to the air processors. It's..." now the holographic woman tears up.

"Well it works... it was supposed to calm the population, weed out aggression. Make a peaceful... it worked. The people here stopped fighting. And then they stopped everything else. They stopped going to work, stopped breeding... talking... eating...There's thirty million people here and they all just let themselves die. They didn't even kill themselves. They just... most starved. When they stopped working the power grids, there were overloads, fires - people burned to death sitting in their chairs. Just sitting." She sobs and then there is a loud bang somewhere behind her...she starts, gathers herself.

"I have to be quick. There was no one working the receptors when we landed, so we hit pretty hard. We can't leave. We can't take any of the local transports because..." There is a loud bang again.

"There are people... they're not people... about a tenth of a percent of the population had the opposite reaction to the Pax. Their aggressor response increased... beyond 've become..."

"Reavers...they made them..." Riddick says. The girl can feel her eyes widen in shock. All of the puzzle pieces are starting to fall into place.

The holograph continues. "they've killed most of us... not just killed, they've done... things...I won't live to report this, and we haven't got power to... people have to know..." And now the holograph is sobbing. "We meant it for the best... to make people safer... to..." There is a loud bang and three our four Reavers come into frame behind her. She whirls, grabs a gun and fires - then aims the gun at her own head - but a Reaver is on her, knocks the gun away and bites her face... She screams continuously as the Reaver tops her, biting at her and tearing at her clothes, at her skin.

"Turn it off." Jayne says quietly.

Wash does, and nobody saying anything.

She feels dizzy...sees the flashes of her dreams again...feel nauseated at finally understanding...her entire body begins to shake...

"They made them...they made me..." She says as she falls to the floor on her knees. Her arms come up and wrap around her herself...her nails digging into the flesh of her skin.

"River?" Simon says as he slowly approaches her. He tries to reach out to her but she strikes out to keep him away.

"They injected her with the Pax...she remembers now...they knew...they wanted to see if they could control her...could use her...as a weapon...she wasn't supposed to know what they did here...was never supposed to know."

She feels it bubbling up before she bends forward and vomits. It is like she is vomiting up the last of their lies and secrets...she feels him come over now and place a hand on her shoulder...

"River." Riddick says softly. She sees herself through his eyes in that moment...it's like he's seeing her for the first time all over again...

"I'm alright." She says offhandedly. It takes a moment for it to sink in that something has become more clear but when she does she looks up at him with wet eyes full of clarity.

"I'm all right."

XXX

...Serenity...

The cylinder is on the table. Mal stands at the head, looking at his crew.

"This report is maybe twelve years old. Parliament buried it, and it stayed buried til River dug it up. This is what they feared she knew. And they were right to fear, 'cause there's a universe of folk that are gonna know it too."

He touches the cylinder. "They're gonna see it. Somebody has to speak for these people." He pauses. Everyone waits.

"You all got on this boat for different reasons, but you all come to the same place. So now I'm asking more of you than I have before. Maybe all. 'Cause as sure as I know anything I know this: They will try again. Maybe on another world, maybe on this very ground, swept clean. A year from now, ten, they'll swing back to the belief that they can make people... better." He says as he looks at River.

"And I do not hold to that. So no more running. I aim to misbehave."

Jayne lets out a deep breath before he speaks. "My grandma always told me: if you can't do something smart, do something right." He cocks his gun at the end and Mal regards him for a moment.

"That the same grandma told you there was an evil dwarf spirit living in your well?"

Jayne chuckles and nods. "She was a fun grandma."

"Do we have a plan?" Riddick asks now.

Book chimes in now. "Mr Universe. We haven't the equipment to broad-wave this code, but he can put it on every screen for thirty worlds. He's pretty damn close, too."

"Based on our orbital trajectories, he reached optimum proximity just before our sunset. If we make a direct run within the hour we're only 67,332 miles out. At full burn we'd reach him inside of...three- hours." River says nonchalantly as she runs the numbers in her head.

Everyone looks at her somewhat amazed. This is the most clear she has ever been...she looks around the room at all the slightly confused and amazed faces. Well all except Riddick, who just looks at her like he wants to devour her.

"What?" She asks still not understanding what the big deal is.

Wash sighs. "Still got the Reavers, and probably the Alliance between us and him."

"It's a fair bet the Alliance knows about Mr Universe. They're gonna see this coming." Zoe replies.

"No..." Mal says sternly. He takes a long moment, his jaw tightening imperceptibly. "They're not gonna see this coming."

XXX

Riddick's POV

Serenity takes off not long after Mal's little speech. We all know what we have to do...but we ain't to fond of the idea. River skirted out of the common area faster than anyone when we were getting set to take off and I track her scent through Serenity. I find her sitting Inara's old shuttle. She is sitting on the ground with what appears to be a compound bow in her lap.

"Where did you get that?" I ask as I walk in.

"It was hers." She says as she lightly caresses it. "She was full of surprises."

"Like mother like daughter." I say as I regret it slightly as I feel River's sorrow spike.

I sit down next to her and I can tell that she needs to say something, but doesn't know how to.

"Something I should know about River?" I say to prod her.

"Promise me...you will look after them." She says as her hand tightens around the bow.

This catches me off guard. "You planning on going somewhere without me?"

"I don't know."

I feel my anger rising. "What do you mean you don't know?"

"It could be nothing...but I have a feeling...in the pit of my stomach...I failed to protect her...if something happens to me...I need to know someone can protect them."

"I don't like this River."

"I'm not asking you to like it..." She turns and looks at me now, determination in her eyes. "...I'm asking you to do this for me."

"River..."

"Promise."

"River..."

"Promise!" She practically screams now.

"NO! Look get whatever fucking idea you have out of your head alright? You ain't going anywhere." I say as I storm out of the shuttle. My anger pulsating under my skin.

XXX

...Serenity's Bridge...

Book and Mal are talking with Mr. Universe. He's very animated. More manic than usual. Almost a little too manic.

"It's no problem! Bring it on bring it on bring it on! From here to the eyes and ears of the 'verse, that's my motto, or it might be if I start having a motto."

"We won't be long." Mal says.

"You're gonna get caught in the ion cloud, it'll play merry hob with your radar, but pretty pretty lights and a few miles after you'll be right in my orbit."

"You'll let us know if anyone else comes at you?" Book asks warily. He knows something isn't right. He's known Mr. Universe too long to not know.

"You'll be the first." Mr. Universe says with a flick of his eyes left.

That's when Book knows. "It has been a pleasure old friend." He says towards the end.

"Likewise, Derreial. Likewise. Please give my regards."

Mal closes the link and turns to Book.

"He's already there isn't he?"

"I'm afraid so." Book says with sadness.

XXX

River's POV

She sits there long after he has left. Her anger and sadness intermixed with all of the other things swirling around in her mind.

**_...Now I know  
That I can't make you stay  
But where's your heart..._**

She needs him to do this for her...she needs to know the others will be safe.

**_...And I know  
There's nothing I can say  
To change that part..._**

He will hate her for what she has to do...she knows this...but he must accept her fate...and his.

**_...But can I speak  
Well is it hard understanding  
I'm incomplete..._**

She gets up now and walks towards the shuttle door...bow still in hand. She casts one last glance back into the darkened shuttle before she turns and walks out into the light of the cargo bay.

**_...A life that's so demanding  
I get so weak..._**

No...she won't let herself be weak now...she will fight...she will find the strength. She keeps walking...she knows her purpose...knows what must be done.

**_...A love that's so demanding  
I can't speak..._**

He will come to understand what she must do. He may never accept it, but he will understand. She will not allow them to take anything more from her. She will protect them till her last breath.

**_...These bright lights have always blinded me  
These bright lights have always blinded me..._**

She walks to the bridge. As she expected she finds him there.

"Hey there River." Wash says as he continues to pilot Serenity towards the Reaver armada. He's nervous...she doesn't even need to be a reader to know that.

"Wash...I need to tell you something."

"Okay?" he says with cautiously.

"I saw things...things I want to change...I'm afraid I need your help to change them..."

"What kind of things?"

"You die...and I don't want that to happen."

He looks at her with wide eyes now. "How?"

"You save us from crashing..."

The weight of her words begin to sink in now and the pilot slumps in his chair...like a ballon that is deflating.

"Zoe?" He asks somewhat fearfully.

"She will live...she will give you something you desperately want. But I want...no need to change this...for everyone's sake."

"What do you need me to do?" He asks hesitantly.

"I need you to trust me...I need you to trust Serenity to me."

He's getting more and more alarmed now. "River what exactly are you asking me to do?"

"I need you to let me pilot Serenity...I will need you to co-pilot...but I need you to trust me to read you and do what you would do."

"But how is that going to change anything?" He asks. "Won't it just be you that..." He can't bring himself to say it.

She smiles a soft smile now and walks over to him and places a hand on his shoulder.

**_"_**Don't be **_afraid to keep on living...I am not afraid to walk this world alone...if you stay, I'll be forgiven._** I need you here...I need your help to keep them flying."

**_...Nothing you can say can stop me going home..._**

XXX

We are amongst the Reaver armada. Serenity slices quietly through the ships, as we come around and see Miranda receding in the distance. Serenity drifts through the armada - and suddenly another ship fires up, running next to her... The two ships pace each other, another vessel coming about as though staring at Serenity, who comes closer and closer.

That is when Mal strikes. He's in a suit at the cannon and he swings the cannon round and fires at the ship pacing them. It blows, fragmenting into burning bits that spiral into other ships, causing two smaller ones to blow as well.

Mal swings around and fires at another ship. The rest of the armada is now starting to move towards them.

"Now Wash!" Mal screams into the comm as he hurriedly moves to the hatch that will take him back inside Serenity.

A second after the hatch closes Wash goes full burn...with a trail of angry Reaver ships following Serenity's wake.

XXX

...Elsewhere...

In close orbit to Mr. Universe's moon waits the Alliance force, at least fifty strong, and clearly with high tech firepower. The Operative looks out from the bridge of one of the bigger warships in the middle of the cluster.

"I'm reading activity in the cloud." The helmsman tells the Operative.

"Lock and fire on my command." The Operative says into his com unit.

"You should have let me see her. We should have done this as men. Not with fire..." he says to himself.

The helmsman interrupts him before he can say anything else though. "Sir!"

The Operative watches as Serenity breaks through the swirling Ion cloud and heads at them, fully Reavered out. He looks confused, then smiles at the ruse. He hits the com. "Vessel in range, lock on..."

The Operative watches admiringly now. "Bastard's not even changing course..."

But as Serenity gets a bit closer, Fifty Reaver Ships suddenly burst from the cloud, also heading straight them. The Operative...and everyone around him...goes wide-eyed.

"That's not good..."

"Sir?" The helmsman asks freaked out.

"Target the Reavers!" The Operative screams into his com. "Target the Reavers! Target everyone! Somebody FIRE!"

The Operative watches as Serenity suddenly lists hard to port...until she's almost upside down... the Alliance ships FIRE, missing Serenity but tagging a few Reaver ships, none of whom have slowed down.

XXX

...Serenity's Bridge...

Mal runs back on to the bridge now...it's there that he is greeted with the surprise of River in the pilot's chair...and Wash in the co-pilot's seat.

"What the fuck is going on?" he angrily demands to know.

"Not now Captain Daddy!" River yells back to him as she grips the controls with all her might.

"Yeah not now Captain." Wash says as he mans his controls.

"We're too close for them to arm..." Wash calls over to River.

"This is gonna be very tight..." River says as she banks left.

"Why the fuck are you piloting?" Riddick says as he comes onto the bridge.

"NOT NOW PEOPLE!" She yells.

Wash is talking to himself in his seat. "I am a leaf on the wind, watch how I soar."

XXX

River's POV

She feels everything...can see everything as clear as the night sky in Wash's mind. She knows exactly what to do and when to do it...she can also feel the battle going on outside...The Reaver force hits the Alliance head on - and several ships do just that, smashing into bigger ships kamikaze-style, everything exploding -The fleet mobilizes, blasting Reaver ships, circling around, and an air war begins, a frenzied, balletic ecstasy of destruction.

They are nearly through...before a barrelling chunk of debris - which is twice their size - forces them to come hard about and remain in the fray.

They all look out at the chaos.

"Chickens come home to roost..." Mal says behind her.

They are suddenly JOLTED by a glancing blow from another ship - both her and Wash struggle to control Serenity.

"The hell?"

"It's okay! I am a leaf on the wind!" Wash says panicky.

"What does that even mean?" Mal replies with equal panic.

"He will explain it later...right now I need him to concentrate and for you all to get to the safety harnesses."

"But bit.."

"NOW!" She screams as Serenity makes her way past the carnage and heads down toward the tiny satellite moon.

"I'm not leaving the bridge!" Mal yells back. "Jayne, Riddick, go strap everyone in!" Mal says as he moves over to where Zoe normally sits.

"But Mal..." Riddick begins to protest.

"Just DO IT!" He says as he straps in.

"Come on!" Jayne yells as Serenity is rocked by another piece of debris.

"River you better have a fucking good reason for all of this!" Riddick calls to her as he leaves with Jayne.

XXX

...On the Operative's Warship...

As the vessel shakes, clearly breached, The Operative moves to a door marked: DART. He puts his thumb to a panel and the door slides up to reveal a standing, almost formfitting one- man cockpit. he enters quickly and seals the door. The Dart disengages a moment later and bullets down towards the surface.

XXX

...Back on Serenity...

Inside Serenity's bridge sparks fly as the ship is hit by an electronic pulse beam from the Reaver ship following them.

"We're fried! I got no control!" Wash says as he frantically begins engaging backups.

"Where's the back up? Where's the back up?" Mal yells.

River and Wash are frantically flipping buttons - the ship whirs to a semblance of life - -

"Back up reads at 20%..." Wash reads as he turns to River. " Are you sure you can you get us down?"

"I'm gonna have to glide her in!" River says as she grips the controls with enough force to turn her knuckles white.

"Will that work?" Both Mal and Wash ask.

"It's what you would do..." She says as she gives Wash a semi-reassuring smile.

Mal grabs the com near him now. "Everybody to the upper decks! Strap yourselves to something!"

They can see it, a long strip, which halfway along becomes a kind of hanger. Serenity arcs at it uncomfortably fast.

It takes no more than a minute...but that minute was the longest of any of their lives...they brace themselves for impact...for explosions... Instead they feel the jolt as Serenity hits ground...the landing gear folds and snaps under the weight - the ship keeps going, now inside the hanger, heading towards the entrance to the facility, slowing, fishtailing and coming about a full one eighty - it goes beyond the strip and crashes down into the pedestrian area, so that the nose is sticking back out at the runway but the body of the ship is hidden from it.

There is a moment of quiet before River yells at Wash and Mal.

"MOVE!" She says as she struggles to undo the harness.

Wash and Mal both unhook and begin to run out of the bridge...but River is still struggling with her harness which has jammed.

"RIVER!" Mal yells as he sees the Reaver ship flying in closer.

"I'm stuck!"

Mal runs up and starts yanking on the straps now. He manages to get the lock open and pulls River out of the chair and to the ground as a harpoon comes in through the window and lodges in the seat where River was a moment ago.

"Come on, you gotta move, you gotta move bit." Mal says as he yanks her up and out of the bridge.

"So much..anger...yelling...screaming..." She says as she grabs at her head and ears as she falls to the ground.

Mal doesn't think twice, just picks her up and continues to run...a trembling River in his arms.

XXX

Riddick's POV

Everyone has made it to the cargo bay before the Captain comes down the stairs carrying a semi-conscious River.

"What the fuck happened?" I bark at him when I see her.

"Reavers...just keep moving."

"She going to be okay?" Kaylee asks nervously.

"They get to her...make it hard for her." I say as I turn back to where Jayne is starting to unlock the small door in the outer cargo bay doors. Everyone has a weapon in hand...even little Kaylee and the Doc.

Jayne and I take point and go out to see if the coast is clear. There aren't any Reavers yet.

"Go!" I yell as the entire crew piles out, all heavily bedecked with weapons.

"Head inside!" Jayne says as he runs up and provides cover if we need it.

Everyone hurries inside and down a few corridors until we come to the entrance proper to the facility. Mal hits a button and huge, thick, blast doors open. The hall itself is smaller than the outer chamber to the facility, but still has the arrows on the ceiling, that point to an elevator some fifty feet away.

"Come on. Jayne, rearguard." I say as I move to where he is standing.

XXX

Zoe slows, looking around her.

"Sir." She says to Mal who hand River to Simon. He turns to Zoe now. "This is a good hold point."

"We all stay together..."

"No. They have to come through here; they'll bottleneck and we can thin 'em out. We get pushed back there's the blast doors.

"I can rig 'em so they won't re-open once they close." Kaylee says nervously.

"Then shut 'em and hide til..."

"We need to draw them til it's done. This is the place. We'll buy time."

Everyone begins moving in a flurry now.

"Move those crates back there for cover - and make sure they ain't filled with anything goes boom." Jayne directs Book, Simon, Wash, and Kaylee.

Riddick moves to stand near Zoe and Mal.

"One of us needs to go." Riddick says.

"Sir?" Zoe asks. She is back on the battlefield, and he will always be her commanding officer.

"It's you or me Riddick..."

"I'll do it...but you better all be alive when I get back. And if anything happens to her..." he says as he motions to River. He doesn't need to say any more and Mal nods in understanding. He takes the cylinder from Mal and begins walking down towards the elevator.

Zoe and Mal watch as he enters the elevator. As the doors close they hears the screams. "Move the gorram crates! Come on!" Mal says as he and Zoe push back more crates.

Mal moves to the door, Jayne beside him. they can both see Reavers rushing toward them. Mal turns to Jayne.

"Tell me you brought 'em..."

Jayne smiles grimly, tosses Mal a grenade as he pops his own and fastballs it at the Reavers. They close the door and hurriedly take cover. The explosion rocks everything in the room.

"Mind on the job people!" Mal yells as they all take up positions.

"Captain's right. Don't be thinkin' of anything else if we're gonna get through this."

"You really think any of us are gonna get through this?" Zoe remarks grimly beside him.

Jayne looks around at the rag-tag crew. An ex-Operative, a doctor, a pilot, two old war buddies, a mechanic and an unconscious reader. A beat, and he looks back at Zoe with forlorn hope...

"I might..."

XXX

Riddick's POV

As soon as the elevator stops I make my way to the island of screens and machines in the center of the space. Its a mass of wires shrapnel, and static filled screens.

"GORRAM IT NO!"

I see a trail of blood on the floor and my eyes settle on the pale and still form of Mr. Universe, lying dead, eyes open, half draped on his equally still lovebot.

I walk over to him and close his eyes. As I start to move back towards the elevator the lovebot turns her head, her eyes focusing with an audible whir. She speaks with surprisingly realistic expressiveness, and a warped, computery version of Mr Universe's voice.

"River." The lovebot says.

"He killed me. He killed me with a sword. How weird is that? I got... a short span here... they destroyed my equipment but I have a back-up unit... bottom of the complex, right over the generator. Hard to get to. I know they missed it. They can't stop the signal. They can never stop the signal."

A beat goes by before the lovebot says anything else. "I'm sorry...I couldn't be more help." She turns back, powering down. Recording over.

"You were a weird and creepy little man..but thank you..." I say as I get up and head towards the generator.

XXX

Jayne moves past Book and Wash to Zoe, takes position by her.

"She picked a sweet bung of a time to go helpless on us." Jayne says as he thumbs towards River.

"JAYNE!" Mal snaps at him from his position by Kaylee and Simon.

"What? I'm just saying we could use her right now!"

"You're an ass Jayne." Wash says.

"Jayne and I take the first wave. Nobody shoots less they get past our fire." Mal says as he falls back into military mode. He shoots River a worried glance before turning his attention back to the door.

Simon checks on River and then moves to Kaylee, who is shaky as hell. The bangs on the door continue.

"Oh, I didn't plan on going out like this. I think we did right, but..." Kaylee says nervously.

"I never planned... anything. I just wanted to keep River safe. Spent so much time on Serenity trying to figure things out that I never realized what was right in front of me."

Kaylee looks at him with soft surprise.

Simon continues now when he sees her smile. "My one true regret in all this is never being with you."

"With me? You mean to say, as... sex?" Kaylee says hopefully.

Simon smiles. "I mean to say."

Kaylee snaps her cartridge home with way more precision than we might expect from her, takes steady aim at the door.

"Hell with this. I'm gonna live." She says with determination.

Simon looks at her a moment, then turns his attention to the door.

Mal chuckles near them. "bout damn time Doc. Was wondering how long it would take you."

XXX

River's POV

...Reality Shifts...

She doesn't know where she is...her feet and hands are chained...she is being led somewhere by four armored guards...all with nasty looking spears pointed at her.

**_...He calls the mansion not a house but a tomb,  
He's always choking from the stench and the fume..._**

She is led to a woman...she reminds her of...someone else...someone from her past... The woman walks up to her with an air of self importance.

**_...This elevator only goes up to ten..._**

"I'm so glad I could steal you away for a moment. Doesn't it strike you odd? Here we have the current Lord Marshal… destroying entire societies, and yet he can't bring himself… to kill you. Why is that? You don't pray to our god. You pray to no god, I hear."

"She...I... calculate..."

**_...If you marry me,  
Would you bury me?,  
Would you carry me to the end?..._**

"Don't we all...But now let's have first things first. What of Riddick?" The woman walks away now and something in her makes her follow.

**_...Lost in coma and covered in cake,  
_**_**Increase the medication, share the vows at the wake...**_

"What of him?" She doesn't like this woman...she reminds her more and more of a gilded butterfly.

**_...(So say goodbye), To the last parade,  
(And walk away), From the choice you make,  
(Say goodbye), To the heart you break,  
And all the cyanide you drank..._**

"In truth, I'm more interested in where he came from..." The woman says as she turns and looks at the girl again as she produces a wicked blade.

The girl doesn't say anything...which just earns her sharp thoughts of daggers and blood from the woman.

"Do me a favor. Calculate the odds of you getting off this planet alive… and now cut them in half."

**_..(Kiss…), To the last parade,  
(The…), As the parties fade,  
(Bride…), And the choice you make..._**

"Save your threats, Necromonger. I have seen more violence at the hands of men more self-righteous than you...and I am far more valuable to your Lord Marshall than you."

**_...To the end…_**

...Reality Shifts Again...

XXX

AN: Okay, so I couldn't do it. I couldn't kill off Wash. I love him too much to not have him around. So what do you all think? Are you excited? I am =) Till next time...


	51. Somewhere a Clock is Ticking The End

AN: Okay people, this is it! This is the last update for A Firefly Among Monsters! Thank you for everyone who has been following this story and who have reviewed. Shout outs go out to Play4ever, Guin, Irishbrneyes, and BooklvrAnnie for the recent reviews. I am truly humbled by all the continued support. Now on with the show before I start crying.

Chapter 51: Somewhere a Clock is Ticking...The End

XXX

A panel is kicked in from the ceiling and the Operative drops down, having clearly entered from a different location. He looks around, carrying a laser-pistol. He moves past Mr. Universe and Lenore...

"River."

The Operative turns.

XXX

Riddick's POV

I turn down the last corridor and come across a door marked generator. I open it, walk in, and survey the situation.

"_taikong suoyou de xingqiu saijin wo de pigu!" _Before me the generator...suspended in the middle of the fucking room. It's miles deep, with machines rotating and grinding, and arcs of electricity ricochetting around it. On the other side is a platform, with the broadwave console sitting behind a clear plastic partition. Cables and chains run along the ceiling, around a series of ladder rungs.

"Hard to get to. That's a fuckin' fact."

XXX

...Back with the Crew...

The door is pried partially open...enough for one Reaver to squeeze through and charge. Mal stands up and shoots him in the head. He arcs back hard as the second comes, Mal shoots him, calmly walking toward the door.

"Mal... Gorramnit..." Jayne yells from his place behind the boxes.

But he is in a trance, there is a bubbling magma of rage beneath the calm. All he can think about is Inara...and River.

He's so lost in his trance of killing that he doesn't see the other Reavers start to pile in. But Jayne totes an automatic, sprays killing fire on the lot, moving forward himself...

XXX

Riddick's POV

I'm on appraising the situation when I hear someone behind me...I pull my gun and turn to face the door.

"Was wondering when you would show up." I say with a sneer.

"Truth be told you are not who I was expecting." The Operative says as he walks into the room.

"Sorry to disappoint."

"There's a lot of innocent people in the air being killed right now...all for than feng-lei little girl."

"You lot are hardly innocent."

Neither of us moves...we just stand there, facing off at ten paces.

"We know the secret now. The truth that burned up River Tam's brain and set you after her. And the rest of the 'verse is gonna know it too. 'Cause they need to."

"You're more surprising than that half-wit Captain...Richard B. Riddick. You really believe that...the verse needs to know this?"

"I do."

"You willing to die for that belief?"

"Who says I am going to be the one dying?"

The Operative raises his gun...but I'm faster. I shoot the gun out of his hand and gets two hits to the chest (armored) before he makes it to cover.

I holster my gun and jumps for the rung above me, and start going hand over hand to the island, moving as fast as I can. I know it is only a matter of time before he gets to his feet.

I make it to the platform in the center of the room and hear a thud behind me. I turn and see the Operative readying an attack.

"Mother fucker you have no idea who you are dealing with." I snarl as I charge him.

XXX

...Serenity's crew...

They are all taking heavy fire now. Jayne is still firing continuously as he drags a now wounded Mal back to the barricades. Simon moves to help...Kaylee firing now, squinting with effort...Simon checks the wound in Mal's leg.

"They didn't hit the bone."

"Just gimme a bandage." Mal says as Simon pulls a spraycan from his bag, sprays the wound with a foam that hardens instantly into an elastic covering.

Jayne turns around and starts firing. He takes a hit to the shoulder...which just pisses him off. "Oh, now you're likin' guns, huh? Cheaters!" He yells as he switches guns and proceeds to spray the Reavers with a rain of bullets.

Out of the corner of her eye Kaylee sees River start to come to and sit up. She turns to say something and is peppered with dart-like projectiles. She screams and drops the weapon, pulling the projectiles from her.

Zoe rushes to help her up, pulls her back as she shouts to the others. "Everybody fall back! Fall back!" Zoe takes a bullet to the leg in the process as she drags Kaylee and still somewhat dazed River by the arm.

Everyone stumbles or is dragged into the inner corridor. Book hits the controls and the doors start to close, from each side and above and below. Then, when the hole is maybe four by four, they stop.

"Jayne! Grenade!" Mal yells.

"Very last one..." He tosses it through the hole.

Wash doesn't even flinch from the blast. "They're gonna get in."

Kaylee mutters as Simon checks her neck. "Can close it... from outside..."

"No one's coming back from that..." Zoe tries to stand, and fails. She starts putting pressure on her leg.

"How much ammo do we have?" Mal asks as he checks his gun.

"We got three full cartridges and my swingin' cod. That's all."

Book is by the elevator, pounding for it to come. "Lift isn't moving..."

"When they come, try to plug the hole with 'em..." Mal commands.

Kaylee cries out and Simon moves to her. "I'm starting to lose some feeling here... I think there's something in them darts they throwed at me."

"Lie still. I'm gonna give you something to counteract the..." He stands, looking around him. His bag is outside the door just this side of the crates.

"My bag." Simon says. But that is all he says as a bullet slices through the air and into his stomach.

XXX

River's POV

"My bag."

That's all she hears and then everything goes into slow motion for her...she hears and sees nothing else but Simon falling to the floor...clutching his stomach. He's gasping for air as Book runs to him and puts pressure on the wound, then puts Simon's hand on it. She moves as fast as she can to her brother's side...tears welling in her eyes...

"My bag. Need... adrenaline... and a shot of calaphar for Kaylee... I can't... River...?"

The girl takes his hand. Tears falling down her cheeks.

"River... I'm sorry..."

"No. No." She says as the tears fall freely.

The lights go out. Everyone looks about them. Jayne fires again, but all the sound in the room has bled out save for her brother's voice...

"I hate to... leave..."

"You won't. You have to take care of them Simon. You have to take care of them when I'm gone..." There is no other way... she knows this now. Determination and adrenaline begin filling her veins, while music begins to fill her mind. The emergency lights flicker on, giving everything an unearthly glow as she looks at him.

**_...I've got this feeling that there's something that I missed  
(I could do most anything to you...) Don't you breathe  
Something happened, that I never understood  
You can't leave..._**

"Once more into the fray...Into the last good fight I'll ever know. Live and die on this day... Live and die on this day." She says to herself as she stands.

**_...Every second, dripping off my fingertips  
Wage your war..._**

"My turn."

**_...Another soldier, says he's not afraid to die  
Well I am scared..._**

The music fills her ears and drowns out everyone's screams...she is vaguely aware that they are all screaming at her as she dives through the hole into the doors. She lands in a perfect roll, comes up in a room full of Reavers. Without a moment's hesitation she grabs Simon's bag and makes it to the panel, and engages the doors closing. She dodges a blade in the process.

**_...In slow motion, the blast is beautiful  
Doors slam shut..._**

She throws the bag as hard and as far as she can...She smiles as she sees the bag sail through the closing doors before they shut...she feels hands on her now...pulling her back...

**_...A clock is ticking, but it's hidden far away  
Safe and sound..._**

XXX

Riddick's POV

"You know...I'm going to enjoy gutting you." I say as the man squares off to come at me again.

"That is highly unlikely Richard."

It's a flurry of fists and limbs now. The fucker is good... every move I make he counters...but he never gets the upper hand.

However, he somehow manages to get an arm around my neck...in a somewhat messy chokehold from behind.

"You know what your sin is, Richard?" He says as he tries to strangle me.

"Aw hell...I'm a fan of all seven." I say as I slam my head back into the man's face...I hear a satisfying crunch of bone and the man's nose is oozing blood by the time I turn around.

He rebounds quickly though...and responds with a spin kick.. I grab the nearest thing to me...a screwdriver and hold it up so the Operative swings his foot right into it. He gasps in shock.

I throw another punch into the man's face, and he goes down hard, dazed.

"But right now..." I say as I kind of stagger towards him. "I'm gonna have to go with Wrath."

XXX

...Meanwhile...

Every one of them is subdued. No one wants to think about the possibility of what is happening on the other side of those blast doors. Book had managed to stabilize Simon enough that he could tell Book what to do about Kaylee. Kaylee had been given a smoother so the drugs could be counteracted in her system without her in pain.

Wash was tending to Zoe's leg, and Mal and Jayne were slumped against some boxes in the front.

Jayne turns to Mal now. "You suppose he got through? Think he got the word out?"

"He got through. I know he got through." Mal says...almost convincingly.

XXX

Riddick's POV

"I'm sorry." The Operative spins him and digs his bunched fingers right into my back. I grimace in pain..but I don't move. I know this trick all too well. I watch as the man goes near the railing and retrieves his sword. I know what the fucker has planned...but he has another thing coming...

"You should know there's no shame in this. You've done remarkable things. But you're fighting a war you've already lost."

The man lunges at me now and I quickly twist and spin out of the way. I jam a shiv into the sweet spot in his back.

"Well, I'm known for that." I say as I elbow him in his throat.

He drops the blade, mouth open, stumbling back, unable to make a sound...and clutching at the wound gushing blood on his back. He slumps down against the railing.

"Piece a shrapnel tore up that nerve cluster my first tour. Had it moved." I slip his sword through the straps on his back and around the railing so that he is pinned in place. I squat down and look into his face.

"Sorry 'bout the throat. Expect you'd wanna say your famous last words now. Just one trouble. I ain't gonna kill you quickly...I'm going to let you bleed out."

I move to the console now, and start prepping the broadwave. I chuckle as I turn back towards him. "But Hell, I'm gonna grant your greatest wish." I insert the cylinder, turns it slightly. It hums to life.

"I'm gonna show you a world without sin." I hit "send all". The cylinder lights up and the broadcast begins. It's projected on the screens about the console. I turn and activate the bridge back towards the exit as the message goes out.

XXX

...A few minutes later...

The gang is still trying to patch themselves together when the elevator doors open. Riddick staggers out, holding his ribs.

"Well?" Mal asks half hopeful.

"It's done." Riddick says as he takes in the state of the crew. He notices almost immediately she isn't there.

"Where the fuck is River?"

"She..." but Mal cannot say it...and he doesn't get a chance to try and say anymore as the blast doors slowly begin to open.

Everyone turns to look, those who can feebly raising weapons, as the square iris of the opening blast doors widens to reveal River, standing alone. She is holding a Reaver axe and sword, and is bloody but unbowed. And the only one alive. There is a moment of silence as everyone looks at her in mixes of awe, bewilderment, and relief...before the wall behind her is ripped completely away.

XXX

River's POV

She cannot help but appreciate the tragic irony of this moment. Here she is reborn..baptized in Reaver blood...and she's about to be ripped away from them again.

**_...Now come one come all to this tragic affair  
Wipe off that makeup, what's in is despair..._**

She feels the wind whipping around her as the wall behind her collapses. She knows that through the smoke come some fifteen Alliance soldiers, all ready for a kill order that won't come...but it won't stop them.

**_...So throw on the black dress, mix in with the lot  
You might wake up and notice you're someone you're not..._**

She can hear all of their thoughts rush in now... but all she sees in that moment are his eyes...behind the goggles...looking at her like she's the last woman alive...

**_...If you look in the mirror and don't like what you see  
You can find out firsthand what it's like to be me..._**

She smiles weakly at him. Her hand tightening on the axe in her right hand. She notices the change in his eyes...he knows what she's about to do.

**_...So gather 'round piggies and kiss this goodbye  
I'd encourage your smiles I'll expect you won't cry..._**

"Drop your weapons! Drop 'em now!" A soldier screams behind her.

Another speaks into his com unit. "Do we engage? Do we engage?"

**_...Another contusion, my funeral jag  
Here's my resignation, I'll serve it in drag..._**

"Targets are acquired! Do we have a kill order? Do we have an order?"

**_...You've got front row seats to the penitence ball  
When I grow up I want to be nothing at all!... _**

"I love you." She says as she throws the axe into the door panel. It slams shut in front of her and the last thing she sees is his face before it closes.

She drops the sword in her other hand and slowly turns around... hands raised in surrender.

**_...(Save me!) Get me the hell out of here  
(Save me!) Too young to die and my dear  
(You can't!) If you can hear me just walk away and  
(Take me!)... _**

XXX

Riddick's POV

"I love you." She says as the doors slam shut.

I feel as if all the air has been sucked out of the room. A second goes by before my vision turns red. I storm over to where Mal sits and yank him to his feet by the collar of his shirt.

"You were supposed to watch her!" I scream.

"In case you ain't noticed we are all bleedin' or injured here. I couldn't of stopped her if I tried."

I pull my shiv and put it to the Captain's throat now. "I needed you to keep her safe."

"Riddick there was nothing any of us could have done." Book says from behind me. I can feel him walking up behind me now, and he puts a hand on my shoulder.

"We will get her back." The Shepherd says.

I turn and glare at the man. "How? How do you know she ain't dead already? How would we ever find her if she ain't dead?"

"I am not sure...but we will."

"He's right...she's crew...she's family. We have to."

I feel my anger give a little, I can feel the sadness start to seep in. I grit my teeth. There isn't time for that...we got work to do before we can get off this rock... The only thing I can think about though is getting her back. We have to... I got things I need to say to her.

XXX

...Epilogue...

It's raining as Riddick stands in the cargo bay of Serenity. It had taken them a few weeks...but the repair work on Serenity was finally finished.

Mal walks up from behind him and stands next to him.

"There's been broadwaves...cries for a recall of the entire Parliament."

Riddick doesn't say anything yet...just continues to look out into the rain. Another minute goes by before he says anything. "Serenity. You lost everything in that battle. Everything you had, everything you were... how did you go on?"

"I didn't...I never left that Valley...I don't expect that you'll ever really leave this place..."

Riddick is silent again. Mal goes to leave but is stopped by the convicts voice. "She wanted me to promise...to look after you all...if anything happened to her."

"Seems like something she would do." Mal waits a moment before he says anything else. "We'll get her back Riddick..." And with that he turns back and walks towards the bridge.

Riddick hears the whir of the engines start and he moves to close up the cargo bay doors. "Storm's getting worse." He says to no one but himself.

XXX

AN: I cannot believe I am done. After close to 3 years...this labor of love is done. Thank you all for the continued support, the reviews, and the words of encouragement. Up next we will have the Chronicles of Riddick and maybe Dead Man Stalking. I will probably break those up into two separate stories, but please be on the look out for the next part of A Firefly Among Monsters...tentatively titled Monsters Hunting a Firefly. Till then everyone. ;)


	52. Music List

_Hi Everyone!_

_This is the complete list of all the music used in A Firefly Among Monsters. They are in the order in which I used them. I figured this would be easier than having to have people google lyrics I use. Enjoy!_

* * *

Requiem: Dies Irae - Tuba Mirum by Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra & Oliver Dohnanyi

Requiem Mass in D Minor, K. 626: VII. Lacrimosa by Tbilisi Symphony Orchestra & Chorus & Jansug Kakhidze

Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 21 in C Major, K. 467: II. Andante by Köln Chamber Orchestra, Evgeni Koroliov & Helmut Müller-Brühl

1812 Festival Overture, Op. 49 by Tbilisi Symphony Orchestra & Jansug Kakhidze

Fugue for Solo Guitar, BWV 1000 in A Minor by Klaus Jäckle

Boléro by London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) & Arpád Jóo

The Planets, Op. 32: Mars, the Bringer of War by Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra & Walter Susskind

Fantasy for Orchestra, "A Night on the Bare Mountain" by The Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra & Leif Segerstam

Tear You Apart by She Wants Revenge

Nocturne in C-sharp Minor by Chopin

Ave Maria by Geoff Zanelli

The Rain Song by Led Zeppelin

Mad World by Michael Andrews & Gary Jules

Make Me Bad by Korn

Disturbia by Rihanna

Faint by Linkin Park

Sweet Dreams by Marilyn Manson

Jet Sex by Ghinzu

The Beginning Is The End Is The Beginning by The Smashing Pumpkins

Spies by Coldplay

Somewhere A Clock Is Ticking by Snow Patrol

In Pieces by Linkin Park

Danse Macabre, Op. 40 by Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra & James DePreist

Furious Angels by Rob Dougan

Closer by Nine Inch Nails

Requiem for a Dream – Lux Aeterna by The London Ensemble & Clint Mansell

Six Gnossiennes (1889-97): Gnossienne No. 1 by Roland Pöntinen

Come On Closer by Jem

Totentanz (Dance of Death) for Piano and Orchestra by Berlin Symphony Orchestra, Michael Ponti & Volker Schmidt-Gertenbach

These Things by She Wants Revenge

Nothing at All by Rob Dougan

I'm Not Okay (I Promise) by My Chemical Romance

Love the Way You Lie (feat. Rihanna) by Eminem

Love the Way You Lie, Pt. II by Rihanna & Eminem

Had Enough by Breaking Benjamin

Criminal by Fiona Apple

Change (In the House of Flies) by Deftones

No One Believes Me by Kid Cudi

Just Like You Imagined by Nine Inch Nails

Over The Hills And Far Away by Led Zeppelin

Dream A Little Dream Of Me by Michael Bublé

Autumn Leaves by Miles Davis

Suite Bergamasque No. 3, L 75: Clair de Lune by Peter Schmalfuss

Black Milk by Massive Attack

Where Is My Mind? (feat. Emily Browning) by Yoav

Ruled By Secrecy by Muse

Anxiety by Nobuo Uematsu

Hidden In Snow by Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross

Roads by Portishead

X-Ecutioner Style by Linkin Park

Smack My Bitch Up by The Prodigy

Heavy In Your Arms by Florence + the Machine

Evil (Is Going On) by Howlin' Wolf

Bad Blood by Beck

Stuck In the Middle With You by Stealers Wheel

Showdown by Brian Tyler

Born Under a Bad Sign (Single Version) by Albert King

Nobody Does It Better by Carly Simon

Come Away With Me by Norah Jones

Honky Tonk Women by The Rolling Stones

Quando Quando Quando ft. Nelly Furtado by Michael Bublé

Put Your Head On My Shoulder by Michael Bublé

Ruled By Secrecy by Muse

The Lightning Strike: (i) What If This Storm Ends? by Snow Patrol

Bodies by Drowning Pool

Famous Last Words by My Chemical Romance

To The End by My Chemical Romance

Somewhere A Clock Is Ticking by Snow Patrol

The End. by My Chemical Romance


	53. Truth

AN: Did you miss me? ;) Hope you all enjoy this teaser. More to come soon.

XXX

"Necromongers..." I whisper as I wake.

**_...If I gave you the truth, would it keep you alive?..._**

It isn't the first time this word has clouded my mind. It is a word...a name...that haunts my dreams now. Other names haunt my dreams as well...but Necromongers...Necromongers are an army unlike any other. Crusading across the stars toward a place called UnderVerse, their promised land...a constellation of dark new worlds.

**_...Though I'm closer to wrong  
I'm no further from right..._**

And if they cannot convert you, they will kill you... she has seen it.

**_...And now I'm convinced on the inside that something's wrong with me  
Convinced on the inside, you're so much more than me, yeah..._**

The girl sees his face in the dreams too...their Lord Marshal...their leader. He alone has made a pilgrimage to the gates of the UnderVerse...and returned a different being. Stronger. Stranger. Half alive and half...something else. But he is afraid...afraid of a prediction... He consulted a seer…of sorts...thirty years ago, before he was their Lord Marshall...and was told that he would die at the hands of a Furyan.

**_...No there's nothing you say that can salvage the lie  
But I'm trying to keep my intentions disguised..._**

This prediction...something now more than 30 years old...haunts the man...this silly superstitious man... Superstition is to religion what astrology is to astronomy...the mad daughter of a wise mother...

**_...And now I'm deprived of my conscience and something's got to give  
Deprived of my conscience  
This all belongs to me, yeah..._**

He waged a private war on the planet Furya, killing what he could find...close to twenty five years ago. That massacre should have ended that matter, but it didn't... The Alliance came to power not long after...finished off what the Necromongers started and forced the Necromongers back... back into the deep dark depths of unchartered space...biding their time...waiting...

**_...The deception you show is your own parasite  
Just a word of advice you can heed if you like..._**

And now their time is approaching...they see the chaos...see what we...what _he_...has done. They know the secret...know what the Alliance did...they see the upheaval...the dissent...and they are taking up arms to make their pilgrimage again...

**_...And now I'm convinced on the inside that something's wrong with me  
Convinced on the inside you're so much more than me, yeah..._**

But he hasn't changed. He knows...all the power in the universe can't change destiny. But he has heard of something...something that could tip the balance in his favor...a weapon to be used...and he is searching...endlessly...

**_...I'm weaker now my friend, I belong to them  
Beaten down again, I've failed you..._**

He's searching...for me...they both are.

XXX

AN: FYI look for the next installment under Monsters Hunting Fireflies coming soon.


	54. UPDATE - Sequel is up Music List

_10/6/13 - Monsters Hunting Fireflies is now posted! Enjoy people._

_Hi Everyone!_

_This is the complete list of all the music used in A Firefly Among Monsters. They are in the order in which I used them. I figured this would be easier than having to have people google lyrics I use. Enjoy!_

* * *

Requiem: Dies Irae - Tuba Mirum by Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra & Oliver Dohnanyi

Requiem Mass in D Minor, K. 626: VII. Lacrimosa by Tbilisi Symphony Orchestra & Chorus & Jansug Kakhidze

Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 21 in C Major, K. 467: II. Andante by Köln Chamber Orchestra, Evgeni Koroliov & Helmut Müller-Brühl

1812 Festival Overture, Op. 49 by Tbilisi Symphony Orchestra & Jansug Kakhidze

Fugue for Solo Guitar, BWV 1000 in A Minor by Klaus Jäckle

Boléro by London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) & Arpád Jóo

The Planets, Op. 32: Mars, the Bringer of War by Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra & Walter Susskind

Fantasy for Orchestra, "A Night on the Bare Mountain" by The Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra & Leif Segerstam

Tear You Apart by She Wants Revenge

Nocturne in C-sharp Minor by Chopin

Ave Maria by Geoff Zanelli

The Rain Song by Led Zeppelin

Mad World by Michael Andrews & Gary Jules

Make Me Bad by Korn

Disturbia by Rihanna

Faint by Linkin Park

Sweet Dreams by Marilyn Manson

Jet Sex by Ghinzu

The Beginning Is The End Is The Beginning by The Smashing Pumpkins

Spies by Coldplay

Somewhere A Clock Is Ticking by Snow Patrol

In Pieces by Linkin Park

Danse Macabre, Op. 40 by Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra & James DePreist

Furious Angels by Rob Dougan

Closer by Nine Inch Nails

Requiem for a Dream – Lux Aeterna by The London Ensemble & Clint Mansell

Six Gnossiennes (1889-97): Gnossienne No. 1 by Roland Pöntinen

Come On Closer by Jem

Totentanz (Dance of Death) for Piano and Orchestra by Berlin Symphony Orchestra, Michael Ponti & Volker Schmidt-Gertenbach

These Things by She Wants Revenge

Nothing at All by Rob Dougan

I'm Not Okay (I Promise) by My Chemical Romance

Love the Way You Lie (feat. Rihanna) by Eminem

Love the Way You Lie, Pt. II by Rihanna & Eminem

Had Enough by Breaking Benjamin

Criminal by Fiona Apple

Change (In the House of Flies) by Deftones

No One Believes Me by Kid Cudi

Just Like You Imagined by Nine Inch Nails

Over The Hills And Far Away by Led Zeppelin

Dream A Little Dream Of Me by Michael Bublé

Autumn Leaves by Miles Davis

Suite Bergamasque No. 3, L 75: Clair de Lune by Peter Schmalfuss

Black Milk by Massive Attack

Where Is My Mind? (feat. Emily Browning) by Yoav

Ruled By Secrecy by Muse

Anxiety by Nobuo Uematsu

Hidden In Snow by Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross

Roads by Portishead

X-Ecutioner Style by Linkin Park

Smack My Bitch Up by The Prodigy

Heavy In Your Arms by Florence + the Machine

Evil (Is Going On) by Howlin' Wolf

Bad Blood by Beck

Stuck In the Middle With You by Stealers Wheel

Showdown by Brian Tyler

Born Under a Bad Sign (Single Version) by Albert King

Nobody Does It Better by Carly Simon

Come Away With Me by Norah Jones

Honky Tonk Women by The Rolling Stones

Quando Quando Quando ft. Nelly Furtado by Michael Bublé

Put Your Head On My Shoulder by Michael Bublé

Ruled By Secrecy by Muse

The Lightning Strike: (i) What If This Storm Ends? by Snow Patrol

Bodies by Drowning Pool

Famous Last Words by My Chemical Romance

To The End by My Chemical Romance

Somewhere A Clock Is Ticking by Snow Patrol

The End. by My Chemical Romance


End file.
